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(dramatic music)

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Downloaded from
YTS.MX

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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

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In 2014 the Islamic State burst onto the world stage.

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A track record of brutality,

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executions, mass beheadings.

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(dramatic music)

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I loved America and I felt a debt to America

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and I hadn't paid her back.

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(gun blasts)

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I get a phone call and this guy said, "Is this is Michael?

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You want to join the YPG?

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Are you ready to fight?

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Are you willing to die?"

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I said, "Yes."

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I pray, I say, "Lord, let your will be done in this area,

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but I really wanna kill them."

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And then it's like boom!

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(gun blasts)

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Then it's fight time.

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(gun blasts)
(bomb explodes)

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And it was just bedlam.

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(gun blasts)
Absolute bedlam.

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Our nostrils were full of the smell of the dead.

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Snipers were everywhere.

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(gun booms)
And they either run,

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or they ended up dead.

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So here you see that within this man is some real rage.

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But some people think that he was not sincere

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in what he was doing.

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(Michael chuckles)

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Like who's this old British dude.

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Oh, he's a movie star coming here for publicity.

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A successful Hollywood actor,

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flying in for six months and then bug out the other way.

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This actor who is becoming a militia fighter.

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I mean, come on.

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What would you say to that?

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Turn it off.

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So, we had doubts about every bit of Michael's story.

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(dramatic music)

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(rapid gunfire blasts)

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Heval!

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And set.

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Are you ready?

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My name is Michael Enright.

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I'm a professional actor.

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Captain, a ship's been spotted.

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I was in "Pirates of the Caribbean" with Orlando Bloom.

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I worked with Bradley Cooper, John Travolta, Robin Williams.

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I also did "Knight and Day" with Tom Cruise.

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Diesel hydraulic.

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It's a diesel hydraulic.

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I did "JAG," "Cold Case," "CSI," "Agents of Shield."

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I loved acting, I'd been acting since I was a little boy.

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Ever since when I got on a TV show

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called "Get it Together" in Manchester.

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Even before that, I can remember we were doing school plays

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and I'd be cracking jokes and people would laugh

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their butts off.

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And I liked that reaction.

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You know, like, oh, all right.

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And then another thing was we had a lot of

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American television and watching that I thought,

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ooh, I wanna go there.

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Everything about America was just so wow to me.

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'Cause it was exciting and fun and crazy.

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It was just everything I felt inside of me.

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And I couldn't wait to get there.

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And I made it, I couldn't believe I had done it.

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I was, oh, loved it.

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(Michael chuckles)

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(dramatic music)

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(traffic rumbles)

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Holy shit!

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Oh, my God.

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I remember waking up on 9/11

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and Howard Stern came on the radio.

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A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center.

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You're kidding?

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(sirens wail)

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A second plane might have crashed

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and the second building is on fire.

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And when I heard him say that I jumped up, ran to the TV

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and there it was.

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(building crashes)
(people yell)

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What came down?
It crashed!

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The other Trade Center's down, it's down.

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It's down.

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I remember shortly after that, I just cried.

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Every day I was just crying.

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All these stories of all these people

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that had been butchered.

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And then it switched from pain to anger.

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I was so angry.

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I loved America and I felt a debt to America

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and I hadn't paid her back.

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All's I've done is sort of take.

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So I decided I was gonna sign up with the American Army

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and I'm gonna go and fight her enemies.

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I called to join up and I left a message,

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I want to go and fight in Afghanistan, call me back please.

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And they never called and so I never went.

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And that became the biggest regret of my life.

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(dramatic music)

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June, 2014, Islamic State forces

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celebrating after astonishing the world.

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Sweeping from Syria through Northern Iraq to Mosul.

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The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria,

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also known as ISIS, has rapidly morphed

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into the world's most dangerous jihadist organization.

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I remember when I heard about ISIS,

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it brought back all those feelings that I'd had at 9/11.

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It all came flooding back.

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They've established themselves

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as the most recognizable terror brand in the world.

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Al-Qaeda is almost considered moderate these days.

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(bomb explodes)

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In 2014, the Middle East was just ripped apart

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by an unparalleled level of violence.

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ISIS was marching incredibly quickly through Iraq and Syria.

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Literally in about 100 days, ISIS had conquered

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an area of territory around the size of Cuba.

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(gun blasts)

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I started seeing new stories about

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this new terrorist organization called the Islamic State.

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Ethnic cleansing mass executions, beheadings,

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it was the most evil barbaric thing I had seen.

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And what made it worse for me was Jihadi John.

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I'm back Obama and I'm back because of your arrogant

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foreign policy towards the Islamic State,

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despite our serious warnings.

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It was an Englishman cutting off the head of an American,

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an innocent American with his hands tied behind his back.

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So just as your missiles continue to strike our people,

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our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people.

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(eerie music)

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And it was antithesis of how I felt about America.

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Were so grateful to America and the American people

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for everything I'd had in that life that I've lived there.

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And he was doing that.

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It just was like an onslaught.

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First they get an American and cut his head off.

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And then there's an Englishman, then the Japanese,

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and Muath, the Jordanian pilot.

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That was a very difficult one to watch.

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They poured paraffin on him, put him in a cage

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and then they lit it and it went right in

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and burned him alive.

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And I thought, no.

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(dramatic music)

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Last week, fleeing execution, rape,

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and slavery at the hands of so-called Islamic State,

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tens of thousands of Yazidis fled for their lives

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through the Syrian desert.

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And then, I heard about the Yazidis on the news.

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These people who lived in the Sengal Sinjar Mountains.

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Learned that ISIS had gone into that region

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and literally butchered all the men.

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The Islamic State believed many different things.

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They thought the Yazidis were devil worshipers.

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Believed in shooting boys and men in ditches,

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enslaving women.

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Some girls as young as three years old,

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were sold into sexual slavery by the Islamic State.

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They gang raped the women, they sold them in markets.

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And I would see the videos on YouTube.

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How much for the blue-eyed Yazidi?

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(men speak in a foreign language)

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I think many people in the west and beyond

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were quite appalled and disgusted by this.

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And also disgusted by what seemed to be

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the inaction of western governments.

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When the attacks against the Yazidis happened,

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there was a call for humanitarian intervention

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and this led to airdrops of supplies.

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But the United States and Britain had just spent 10 years

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in the occupation of Iraq

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and there was absolutely no interest in going back in

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and putting boots on the ground

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to fight another conflict in the region.

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Well, when I saw that stuff, all of these videos,

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it made me sick, not just what ISIS was doing,

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killing civilians, but that armies weren't clamoring

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to go fight them.

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(women scream)

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I remember I was like, what?

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This was so horrible, what they were doing.

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And so I wanted to hit them back.

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I mean, there's no talking to that kind of mentality.

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You have to have action and they need to be stopped.

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And so I wanted to be part of that.

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And I started making steps to go.

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(dramatic music)

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When I was asked to do an in depth profile

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of Michael Enright in late 2019,

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I didn't automatically jump at the story.

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We had doubts about every bit of Michael's story,

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from day one of the story, all the way up

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to the present time.

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It sounds like something from the mind

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of a Hollywood script writer.

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But I made a couple of phone calls

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and there was really something there.

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What really grabbed my interest was the complexity

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of Michael's need to get involved

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and risk his life for people he'd never met.

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It's what makes him an intriguing character.

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(dramatic music)

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I wanted to go and fight ISIS,

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but I knew England and America were not at the time.

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So I needed to find out exactly who was on the ground.

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The Kurdish military

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has been America's most reliable partner

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in the war against ISIS.

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They've done most of the fighting

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and almost all of the dying.

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The Kurds are often described as the largest ethnic group

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without a state of their own.

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And that's probably fair.

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I mean, right now there are about 30 odd million Kurds

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scattered across the four states, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran,

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and they have no state.

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When the struggle against Islamic State emerged in Syria,

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this YPG emerged, they were seen as the one group

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seriously putting up a fight against Islamic State.

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(woman speaks in a foreign language)

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The Syrian Kurds organized themselves and became the YPG.

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And they were the men and women

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that were on the ground fighting ISIS.

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These Kurdish freedom fighters,

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who were taking it upon themselves to fight back

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and clean their own backyard, completely outnumbered,

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outarmed, and ill-equipped.

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The Kurdish fighting force, the YPG,

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they have been a staunch ally of the United States

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in fighting ISIS.

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(guns blast)

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And the Kurdish fighters are thought

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to have about a hundred westerners fighting on their side.

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The YPG seem to be willing to accept anybody

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who volunteered to come join them.

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And I suspect that it's because the YPG

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needed the sheer manpower involved

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in fighting against the Islamic State.

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While researching Michael's story,

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we end up diving into this whole netherworld

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that I didn't really comprehend or really know existed,

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which is this large number of western volunteers

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who decide to go fight in Syria.

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I could see who were the good guys in this fight.

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And I wanted to volunteer, put my life on the line

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and fight for what I thought was the clearest distinction

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between good and evil since the Second World War.

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There was this perfect enemy.

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This bad guy had surfaced,

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not one real army landed to destroy them.

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The Americans and Europeans were supporting

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with air support as everybody knows.

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But as for boots on the ground,

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it was just the YPG, in Syria at least.

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And that's when I was able to start making moves

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toward going over there.

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At that point, I'd already decided I was gonna go.

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So I called a friend of mine who was British special forces

266
00:13:25,590 --> 00:13:28,373
and he was working as a contractor.

267
00:13:30,680 --> 00:13:33,210
And I said, listen, I said, I wanna go.

268
00:13:33,210 --> 00:13:34,460
I wanna go and fight.

269
00:13:34,460 --> 00:13:36,913
And we had a long conversation about it.

270
00:13:38,220 --> 00:13:39,860
When Michael first came up with a question

271
00:13:39,860 --> 00:13:43,900
about entering Syria or joining the YPG,

272
00:13:43,900 --> 00:13:45,030
we were actually in a bar

273
00:13:45,030 --> 00:13:47,283
watching a Manchester City football game.

274
00:13:48,355 --> 00:13:50,210
I was worried about him for multitudes of reasons.

275
00:13:50,210 --> 00:13:53,370
You know, we were evacuating people from that region,

276
00:13:53,370 --> 00:13:54,750
not sending them up there.

277
00:13:54,750 --> 00:13:57,470
You know, this guy'd been a Hollywood the week before

278
00:13:58,346 --> 00:14:00,807
and he was not prepped for this at all.

279
00:14:02,010 --> 00:14:05,090
But he was just adamant he was gonna do it.

280
00:14:05,090 --> 00:14:08,120
He's determined, he's not going to listen to anybody.

281
00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:10,120
He's not going to listen to reason.

282
00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:13,220
He's not going to listen to pleading.

283
00:14:13,220 --> 00:14:17,320
Michael is this fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kind of person.

284
00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:21,290
This is just somebody who acts on instinct,

285
00:14:21,290 --> 00:14:25,903
not on careful calculation and planning.

286
00:14:29,210 --> 00:14:32,860
How I helped Michael to join the YPG initially

287
00:14:32,860 --> 00:14:36,030
was basically via social media.

288
00:14:36,030 --> 00:14:40,670
I knew of groups that were becoming tools on the ground,

289
00:14:40,670 --> 00:14:43,460
The Lions of Rojava being one of them.

290
00:14:44,660 --> 00:14:46,960
This is a pretty exceptional war.

291
00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:50,010
This is one of the first wars I'd imagine

292
00:14:50,010 --> 00:14:52,540
where the recruits of the armies

293
00:14:52,540 --> 00:14:56,330
were drawn from Facebook and other social media.

294
00:14:56,330 --> 00:14:58,680
I discovered a page for The Lions of Rojava

295
00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:00,700
that had only just been set up by an American

296
00:15:00,700 --> 00:15:02,380
called Jordan Matson.

297
00:15:02,380 --> 00:15:05,460
He had been injured in Syria just a few weeks before.

298
00:15:05,460 --> 00:15:08,480
He called for other international volunteers to come out.

299
00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:11,700
Lions of Rojava said, buy a one-way ticket,

300
00:15:11,700 --> 00:15:14,540
fly into Northern Iraq and contact us

301
00:15:14,540 --> 00:15:15,500
once you bought your flight

302
00:15:15,500 --> 00:15:16,900
and we'll give you a contact person.

303
00:15:16,900 --> 00:15:18,450
I sold everything I had.

304
00:15:18,450 --> 00:15:20,180
I had a Porsche 911.

305
00:15:20,180 --> 00:15:22,910
I sold that to fund me going.

306
00:15:22,910 --> 00:15:24,083
I sold everything.

307
00:15:25,470 --> 00:15:27,470
I talked to a lot of Michael's friends

308
00:15:27,470 --> 00:15:29,490
and colleagues in Los Angeles,

309
00:15:29,490 --> 00:15:33,910
and to a person they were horrified

310
00:15:33,910 --> 00:15:38,370
that he was talking about going over to Syria.

311
00:15:38,370 --> 00:15:42,770
But in many ways they were not surprised.

312
00:15:42,770 --> 00:15:47,130
This is Michael Enright reacting with his heart,

313
00:15:47,130 --> 00:15:50,920
reacting with his gut, not necessarily

314
00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:52,393
thinking everything through.

315
00:15:53,410 --> 00:15:55,530
I thought this could be a set up,

316
00:15:55,530 --> 00:15:57,424
the whole thing could be a set up.

317
00:15:57,424 --> 00:15:58,423
It could be ISIS.

318
00:16:00,190 --> 00:16:02,310
I thought to hell with it.

319
00:16:02,310 --> 00:16:04,240
I'm gonna roll the dice.

320
00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:06,897
So I bought the flight and then I texted them,

321
00:16:06,897 --> 00:16:08,630
"Hey, how you doing, this is Michael Enright.

322
00:16:08,630 --> 00:16:10,120
You told me to buy a flight.

323
00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:12,400
I bought the flight, can you let me know

324
00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:13,617
the contact person."

325
00:16:14,460 --> 00:16:16,470
Didn't get back in touch.

326
00:16:16,470 --> 00:16:17,853
What is going on here?

327
00:16:19,210 --> 00:16:24,023
So I texted them again and I put it all in big caps,

328
00:16:25,063 --> 00:16:29,920
contact person, contact person, contact person.

329
00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:31,720
I get a phone call.

330
00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:34,000
And I'm getting on the phone like, "Hello?"

331
00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:37,110
And this guy said, "This is Michael?"

332
00:16:37,110 --> 00:16:37,943
I said, "Yes."

333
00:16:37,943 --> 00:16:39,770
He said, "You want to join the YPG?"

334
00:16:39,770 --> 00:16:40,710
I said, "Yes."

335
00:16:40,710 --> 00:16:42,282
He said, "Are you ready to fight?

336
00:16:42,282 --> 00:16:43,330
Are you willing to die?"

337
00:16:43,330 --> 00:16:44,895
I said, "Yes."

338
00:16:44,895 --> 00:16:46,210
(dramatic music)

339
00:16:46,210 --> 00:16:49,310
Based on this interchange with a person

340
00:16:49,310 --> 00:16:54,310
whose face he's never seen, Michael Enright launches himself

341
00:16:55,020 --> 00:16:56,663
into the Middle East.

342
00:16:57,570 --> 00:17:02,570
It's this mashup of recklessness and aspiration,

343
00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:07,370
which very likely could have ended up

344
00:17:07,370 --> 00:17:10,790
with Michael Enright in an orange suit

345
00:17:10,790 --> 00:17:14,223
having his head chopped off in an ISIS video.

346
00:17:21,860 --> 00:17:25,350
I flew to Iraq and met a couple of guys at a hotel,

347
00:17:25,350 --> 00:17:27,050
a pretty germy hotel.

348
00:17:27,050 --> 00:17:29,133
And I got in a truck and went let's roll.

349
00:17:30,170 --> 00:17:32,960
That was the start of my journey with the YPG.

350
00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:35,200
(dramatic music)

351
00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:37,650
We went down to the river, to the Tigris,

352
00:17:37,650 --> 00:17:39,683
right on the border of Iraq and Syria.

353
00:17:41,973 --> 00:17:43,210
And we have to cross at night

354
00:17:43,210 --> 00:17:45,610
because we're entering the country illegally.

355
00:17:45,610 --> 00:17:47,573
And we went across in a dinghy.

356
00:17:48,410 --> 00:17:53,383
And we go straight to what's called The Academy.

357
00:17:55,410 --> 00:17:58,290
You wake up in the morning, you do exercise.

358
00:17:58,290 --> 00:17:59,153
You go for a run.

359
00:18:00,237 --> 00:18:03,050
And then you do a language lesson.

360
00:18:03,050 --> 00:18:04,730
You learn some Kurdish.

361
00:18:04,730 --> 00:18:07,570
And then you started to learn about the YPG

362
00:18:07,570 --> 00:18:11,200
and the YPJ, YPJ is the women's unit.

363
00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,100
The YPG believes in equality between the sexes.

364
00:18:14,100 --> 00:18:16,340
So it's a matter of if you've got the fight in you

365
00:18:16,340 --> 00:18:19,590
and in your heart, you know, that's what that's about.

366
00:18:19,590 --> 00:18:20,860
It's not a gender thing.

367
00:18:20,860 --> 00:18:23,410
Actually, you learned a lot and it was interesting.

368
00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:28,130
At The Academy, the Kurds gave us like an understanding

369
00:18:28,130 --> 00:18:31,460
of the difference between the cultures and the groups

370
00:18:31,460 --> 00:18:33,280
and the ethnicities over there.

371
00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:36,293
In addition to coaching us up on the weapon systems.

372
00:18:38,396 --> 00:18:39,530
We got weapons training.

373
00:18:39,530 --> 00:18:42,918
You learned to dismantle the big C machine gun.

374
00:18:42,918 --> 00:18:44,712
You learned to dismantle your Kalashnikov.

375
00:18:44,712 --> 00:18:46,512
You learned to put it back together.

376
00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:51,770
Before I went to Syria, I'd never used a weapon,

377
00:18:51,770 --> 00:18:53,850
I certainly didn't know how to dismantle one,

378
00:18:53,850 --> 00:18:55,900
I hardly knew how to take the safety off.

379
00:18:58,300 --> 00:19:00,513
I never wanted to, I never liked guns.

380
00:19:00,513 --> 00:19:03,470
(gun blasts)

381
00:19:03,470 --> 00:19:04,660
Whoa, fucking hell.

382
00:19:04,660 --> 00:19:06,120
Excuse my language.

383
00:19:06,120 --> 00:19:07,599
Whew, baby.

384
00:19:07,599 --> 00:19:08,810
Heval!

385
00:19:08,810 --> 00:19:12,273
Actually, I shot a Kalashnikov in a commercial I did.

386
00:19:12,273 --> 00:19:14,380
Command control.
(gun blasts)

387
00:19:14,380 --> 00:19:18,483
I played a bank robber and I actually used the same weapon

388
00:19:18,483 --> 00:19:21,683
that I would use for real in Syria.

389
00:19:21,683 --> 00:19:23,240
Shoot.
(gun blasts)

390
00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:24,250
Well, that was the only time I'd ever

391
00:19:24,250 --> 00:19:25,737
touched weapons before then.

392
00:19:25,737 --> 00:19:30,737
(instructor speaks in a foreign language)

393
00:19:30,930 --> 00:19:35,200
The training for volunteers in Syria with the YPG,

394
00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:37,570
at first it was only two weeks long.

395
00:19:37,570 --> 00:19:39,866
It was not enough for sure.

396
00:19:39,866 --> 00:19:41,638
Just because there was a war,

397
00:19:41,638 --> 00:19:44,630
they needed people on the front quite quickly.

398
00:19:44,630 --> 00:19:47,860
And the best they could do was was that.

399
00:19:47,860 --> 00:19:50,793
Just imagine being Michael Enright,

400
00:19:51,710 --> 00:19:55,040
you're this actor, who's becoming a militia fighter

401
00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:59,390
against a vicious organization like ISIS.

402
00:19:59,390 --> 00:20:01,060
I mean, come on.

403
00:20:01,060 --> 00:20:02,610
You're not qualified.

404
00:20:02,610 --> 00:20:04,530
You know nothing about guns.

405
00:20:04,530 --> 00:20:07,260
You've never fought in a war.

406
00:20:07,260 --> 00:20:10,370
You would not do this, it would be a suicide mission.

407
00:20:10,370 --> 00:20:12,293
And yeah, he's determined.

408
00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:15,830
(people chanting)

409
00:20:15,830 --> 00:20:18,460
When you were in The Academy you got a name.

410
00:20:18,460 --> 00:20:22,670
The other volunteers were given names, but I chose my name,

411
00:20:22,670 --> 00:20:24,883
because there was a Pakistani man that I worked with

412
00:20:24,883 --> 00:20:26,510
when I was 18.

413
00:20:26,510 --> 00:20:28,680
My father had just died and this guy sort of became

414
00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:30,630
a little bit of a father figure in a way.

415
00:20:30,630 --> 00:20:31,850
His name was Mustafa.

416
00:20:31,850 --> 00:20:35,960
So, in honor of him, I named myself Mustafa Rojava,

417
00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:38,100
because the part of Syria I was in,

418
00:20:38,100 --> 00:20:39,857
the Kurdish part is called Rojava.

419
00:20:41,582 --> 00:20:42,415
Where do you come from?

420
00:20:42,415 --> 00:20:43,603
What's your family situation?

421
00:20:43,603 --> 00:20:44,503
What's your story?

422
00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:47,040
What's my story?

423
00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:48,523
How many hours do you have?

424
00:20:49,990 --> 00:20:53,546
My name is Michael Enright.

425
00:20:53,546 --> 00:20:57,307
My Kurdish guerrilla name is Mustafa Rojava.

426
00:20:58,154 --> 00:20:59,240
How do you volunteer, how you found out

427
00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:00,590
about the situation here?

428
00:21:00,590 --> 00:21:04,210
What's going on in Kurdistan and the Middle East?

429
00:21:05,093 --> 00:21:06,780
I don't like bullies.

430
00:21:06,780 --> 00:21:08,047
I never liked bullies.

431
00:21:08,047 --> 00:21:12,707
And to see them with a man with his hands tied behind him,

432
00:21:12,707 --> 00:21:15,090
who has no hope of defending himself.

433
00:21:15,090 --> 00:21:18,307
And then some man come along and slice his head off.

434
00:21:26,660 --> 00:21:27,940
What is your conviction?

435
00:21:27,940 --> 00:21:29,800
What do you feel while you are here

436
00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:32,690
and what do you want to achieve being here?

437
00:21:32,690 --> 00:21:37,690
I want to stand up like a man and kill them.

438
00:21:38,710 --> 00:21:41,070
And help to eliminate them.

439
00:21:41,070 --> 00:21:46,070
And you know, in whatever small part I can play in that.

440
00:21:49,020 --> 00:21:49,870
I want to do that

441
00:21:52,650 --> 00:21:55,920
with all the hevals and with everybody,

442
00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:57,540
not just the Kurdish people,

443
00:21:57,540 --> 00:21:59,700
'cause this is not just a Kurdish fight.

444
00:21:59,700 --> 00:22:01,900
This is everybody's fight.

445
00:22:01,900 --> 00:22:05,228
My name is Jeremy, Kurdish name, Seapand Ahmed.

446
00:22:05,228 --> 00:22:07,697
(man speaks French)

447
00:22:07,697 --> 00:22:10,120
My Kurdish name is Gabar Ahmed.

448
00:22:10,970 --> 00:22:13,250
The international volunteers, they're a broad church

449
00:22:13,250 --> 00:22:15,200
of political ideals.

450
00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:17,560
They all go to Syria for different reasons

451
00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:19,950
to join the YPG and the YPJ.

452
00:22:19,950 --> 00:22:22,860
Before this, I was a student and I studied philosophy.

453
00:22:22,860 --> 00:22:25,580
I came out here because I believe in revolution.

454
00:22:25,580 --> 00:22:27,630
We are here to defend Rojava against whatever

455
00:22:27,630 --> 00:22:29,790
the biggest threats it faces.

456
00:22:29,790 --> 00:22:33,630
These people were exceptionally strong-willed

457
00:22:33,630 --> 00:22:36,433
and willing to lay their life on the line.

458
00:22:37,710 --> 00:22:41,897
John Galar was probably the smartest guy I met out there.

459
00:22:41,897 --> 00:22:43,823
And very philosophical kind of person.

460
00:22:45,070 --> 00:22:47,500
My name is John from Windsor, Ontario.

461
00:22:47,500 --> 00:22:49,770
I served in the military for three years

462
00:22:50,910 --> 00:22:53,240
and a few of my good friends got killed.

463
00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:56,260
So, I suppose I've been living with that

464
00:22:56,260 --> 00:22:58,000
for the last 10 years or so.

465
00:22:58,000 --> 00:22:59,580
Yeah, psychologically, I guess that makes it

466
00:22:59,580 --> 00:23:01,980
pretty easy to explain why a lot of us are here.

467
00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:05,600
There was an Australian, Reece Harding,

468
00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:06,880
who was a friend of mine.

469
00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:09,080
He was by far the best looking

470
00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:10,420
of all the westerners anyway.

471
00:23:10,420 --> 00:23:12,100
I told him, I said, "You was in LA, mate,

472
00:23:12,100 --> 00:23:12,933
I'd put you in touch with a couple of

473
00:23:12,933 --> 00:23:14,540
modeling agencies I know."

474
00:23:14,540 --> 00:23:18,260
He was so handsome and such a sweet person.

475
00:23:18,260 --> 00:23:19,810
The Kurdish people are lovely people.

476
00:23:19,810 --> 00:23:21,960
I've never met such a nice group of people.

477
00:23:24,216 --> 00:23:27,290
If anything happens to me, parents, I love you,

478
00:23:27,290 --> 00:23:31,780
brother, I love you, and Isabelle, I love you, thanks.

479
00:23:31,780 --> 00:23:34,630
There are a lotta guys that sacrificed a lot

480
00:23:34,630 --> 00:23:35,600
when they went over there.

481
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:39,180
There were guys that sacrificed their lives

482
00:23:39,180 --> 00:23:40,363
to go over there.

483
00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:43,375
Sometime after The Academy,

484
00:23:43,375 --> 00:23:47,317
the YPG found out I was an actor and they said to me,

485
00:23:47,317 --> 00:23:50,490
"We want you to film your time with us."

486
00:23:50,490 --> 00:23:52,850
They said, you know, "Can you carry the camera?

487
00:23:52,850 --> 00:23:55,600
Can you do some media for us?"

488
00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:58,430
And I said, "No, I came to shoot, but not with a camera."

489
00:23:58,430 --> 00:24:01,420
And they said, "You can keep your gun,

490
00:24:01,420 --> 00:24:04,420
we're not taking that away, but England isn't helping at all

491
00:24:04,420 --> 00:24:06,865
and because you're a famous actor."

492
00:24:06,865 --> 00:24:09,060
I'm not a famous actor, but that's what they perceived.

493
00:24:09,060 --> 00:24:11,240
They said, "We think you can help us."

494
00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:13,057
I said, "Okay."

495
00:24:14,569 --> 00:24:17,600
The YPG and YPJ, they always encouraged

496
00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:19,350
international volunteers to speak up,

497
00:24:19,350 --> 00:24:22,250
to talk their mind, to write articles, to go on the press.

498
00:24:22,250 --> 00:24:24,897
Many international volunteers didn't want to do that.

499
00:24:24,897 --> 00:24:27,528
Oh, no video for me, man.

500
00:24:27,528 --> 00:24:30,378
Others didn't want to draw attention to themselves.

501
00:24:30,378 --> 00:24:34,395
For an operation, I'll have my camera like that

502
00:24:34,395 --> 00:24:39,395
and then click, safety on and then boom, in we go.

503
00:24:39,970 --> 00:24:43,333
After training, I was with a Kurdish unit,

504
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:46,283
all Kurds, which I liked.

505
00:24:47,620 --> 00:24:49,263
I liked it a lot, actually.

506
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:52,160
I'm traveling with these boys.

507
00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:53,404
(Michael speaks a foreign language)

508
00:24:53,404 --> 00:24:56,280
(men speak a foreign language)

509
00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:58,961
And then our driver, who's an excellent-

510
00:24:58,961 --> 00:24:59,794
(man speak a foreign language)

511
00:24:59,794 --> 00:25:04,105
(Michael speaks a foreign language)

512
00:25:04,105 --> 00:25:05,462
Yes.

513
00:25:05,462 --> 00:25:08,790
(Michael speaks a foreign language)

514
00:25:08,790 --> 00:25:10,765
Well, I could change units.

515
00:25:10,765 --> 00:25:15,410
(Michael speaks a foreign language)

516
00:25:15,410 --> 00:25:16,243
And I would change.

517
00:25:16,243 --> 00:25:18,510
Literally I would do an operation with one in the morning

518
00:25:18,510 --> 00:25:20,570
and I would see them going on another one

519
00:25:20,570 --> 00:25:22,020
in the afternoon, and I would just leave

520
00:25:22,020 --> 00:25:24,070
and go with a new operation.

521
00:25:24,070 --> 00:25:26,450
I was really hyped up.

522
00:25:26,450 --> 00:25:29,290
'Cause I played those guys in films.

523
00:25:29,290 --> 00:25:31,390
It's like you're about to go on a raid, you're a SWAT member

524
00:25:31,390 --> 00:25:32,438
and they're all.

525
00:25:32,438 --> 00:25:35,220
You know, I always played it like, you're ready to go.

526
00:25:35,220 --> 00:25:38,040
And in actual fact, that's not how it is.

527
00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:40,250
You're having a laugh, you're totally relaxed.

528
00:25:40,250 --> 00:25:41,781
Say, hi boys.

529
00:25:41,781 --> 00:25:42,614
Hi.
Hi.

530
00:25:43,740 --> 00:25:45,440
Look at that handsome man there.

531
00:25:48,591 --> 00:25:50,990
(Michael speaks a foreign language)

532
00:25:50,990 --> 00:25:52,930
Sometimes I'd make jokes.

533
00:25:52,930 --> 00:25:56,103
Hello, it looks like you're the only Daesh we've met.

534
00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:01,750
ISIS in that part of the world is called Daesh.

535
00:26:01,750 --> 00:26:03,450
And they hate being called that.

536
00:26:03,450 --> 00:26:06,220
That's why I prefer Daesh to ISIS, you know.

537
00:26:06,220 --> 00:26:07,500
How are ya?

538
00:26:07,500 --> 00:26:09,080
Everyone good?

539
00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:10,000
Looking a little sad.

540
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:11,423
Yes, we took your village.

541
00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:16,413
You know, a lot of war is doing nothing.

542
00:26:18,570 --> 00:26:22,830
It's hour after hour, day after day, week after week

543
00:26:22,830 --> 00:26:24,380
of doing nothing.

544
00:26:24,380 --> 00:26:25,623
And it's really boring.

545
00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:30,230
Most of the time you weren't on some sort of offensive.

546
00:26:30,230 --> 00:26:34,263
You were slowly taking ground and holding it.

547
00:26:35,580 --> 00:26:37,380
Slowly taking ground and holding it.

548
00:26:38,500 --> 00:26:43,400
And that was the majority of the experience.

549
00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:46,000
So, our food didn't arrive.

550
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:49,060
So, we're gonna try and see if we can find some food.

551
00:26:49,060 --> 00:26:51,093
I think some of the gentleman have found some.

552
00:26:55,690 --> 00:26:58,020
Oh, I say, how uncivilized.

553
00:26:58,020 --> 00:27:01,150
Oh, well, if you can't go through the door,

554
00:27:01,150 --> 00:27:03,280
I guess you can always go through the window.

555
00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:07,250
And I remember going in one store and I saw a mirror.

556
00:27:07,250 --> 00:27:10,420
And it was like, whoa, yes!

557
00:27:10,420 --> 00:27:11,980
A mirror.

558
00:27:11,980 --> 00:27:14,790
Oh, wow, we've got a mirror.

559
00:27:14,790 --> 00:27:16,742
A little "Saving Private Ryan" action.

560
00:27:16,742 --> 00:27:17,992
Break that off.

561
00:27:19,027 --> 00:27:20,480
Put that fit in there?

562
00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:21,730
Yep, very nicely.

563
00:27:21,730 --> 00:27:22,690
There you go.

564
00:27:22,690 --> 00:27:25,190
So when Daesh comes, I can look 'round the corner.

565
00:27:26,507 --> 00:27:30,210
"Saving Private Ryan," I've watched it about 50 times.

566
00:27:30,210 --> 00:27:32,600
I've only got two films downloaded, "Saving Private Ryan"

567
00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:34,030
and "Schindler's List."

568
00:27:34,030 --> 00:27:36,403
Tom Hanks goes like that, so I thought, hm.

569
00:27:38,150 --> 00:27:41,687
I like your style Tommy, I like your style.

570
00:27:41,687 --> 00:27:45,750
Do you know when you're at war, most of your time

571
00:27:45,750 --> 00:27:48,500
is spent doing your, not fighting.

572
00:27:48,500 --> 00:27:50,033
So there is a lot of boredom.

573
00:27:51,300 --> 00:27:54,213
It's day five now of this place.

574
00:27:55,980 --> 00:27:57,230
It gets frustrating.

575
00:27:57,230 --> 00:28:00,943
You're doing absolutely nothing, you know, for a long time.

576
00:28:02,875 --> 00:28:04,365
And then you get the word, you know

577
00:28:04,365 --> 00:28:06,165
that you're gonna go on an operation

578
00:28:07,086 --> 00:28:09,253
and then it's like, boom.

579
00:28:09,253 --> 00:28:12,056
Then it's go time and you're switched on.

580
00:28:12,056 --> 00:28:14,473
(guns blast)

581
00:28:16,686 --> 00:28:19,939
(man yells in a foreign language)

582
00:28:19,939 --> 00:28:22,597
(guns blast)

583
00:28:22,597 --> 00:28:23,758
So, they've got a sniper shooting

584
00:28:23,758 --> 00:28:26,353
right at that location we was at.

585
00:28:26,353 --> 00:28:30,060
The first time I got shot at, that was a trip.

586
00:28:30,060 --> 00:28:31,930
We had Daesh completely surrounded

587
00:28:31,930 --> 00:28:34,151
and we'd just be bombing 'em.

588
00:28:34,151 --> 00:28:36,659
(guns blast)

589
00:28:36,659 --> 00:28:37,492
Fuck me!

590
00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:42,705
We were shooting back and forth and then.

591
00:28:42,705 --> 00:28:45,067
(gun blasts)

592
00:28:45,067 --> 00:28:48,057
There was two shots.
(gun blasts)

593
00:28:48,057 --> 00:28:50,070
(Michael speaks in a foreign language)

594
00:28:50,070 --> 00:28:53,693
The ISIS sniper hit the rock right next to my face.

595
00:28:55,740 --> 00:28:58,600
And the rock hits me in the face from his bullet.

596
00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:01,023
That was the first time that had happened,

597
00:29:01,023 --> 00:29:03,248
that specifically for me.

598
00:29:03,248 --> 00:29:05,665
(guns blast)

599
00:29:08,728 --> 00:29:11,380
And that pissed me off.

600
00:29:11,380 --> 00:29:13,950
But the adrenaline was in and I was so angry

601
00:29:13,950 --> 00:29:17,190
and I thought at least give them something back.

602
00:29:17,190 --> 00:29:19,300
So I just took aim and I just held it up.

603
00:29:19,300 --> 00:29:22,230
And I just went.
(gun blasts)

604
00:29:22,230 --> 00:29:23,900
So at least he was getting something back.

605
00:29:23,900 --> 00:29:25,640
At least he knew we knew where he was.

606
00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:28,620
'Cause that'll make sometimes make a sniper move.

607
00:29:28,620 --> 00:29:30,730
Sometimes the best way to kill an enemy

608
00:29:30,730 --> 00:29:33,310
is to hold them in place with suppressive fire.

609
00:29:33,310 --> 00:29:36,180
Then call in air support from the Americans, the Brits,

610
00:29:36,180 --> 00:29:38,600
the French, and they'll come and drop a bomb

611
00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:40,890
right on their lovely heads.

612
00:29:40,890 --> 00:29:45,890
(guns blast)
(bomb blasts)

613
00:29:46,290 --> 00:29:49,040
(dramatic music)

614
00:29:55,840 --> 00:29:57,283
Get on the end of that.

615
00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:03,750
Why would you go be an insurgent

616
00:30:03,750 --> 00:30:05,730
in somebody else's civil war.

617
00:30:05,730 --> 00:30:07,720
There's gotta be something else that's motivating people

618
00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:10,790
to go travel to these countries where they have never been,

619
00:30:10,790 --> 00:30:13,123
don't know anybody, to go fight as a rebel.

620
00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:18,300
I think Michael's psychological state at the time

621
00:30:18,300 --> 00:30:23,240
is simultaneously one of great clarity

622
00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:26,203
and one of a great fog.

623
00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,223
The clarity of purpose,

624
00:30:31,060 --> 00:30:34,873
the fog of not understanding the consequences.

625
00:30:36,980 --> 00:30:39,500
The common theme that I encountered

626
00:30:39,500 --> 00:30:42,050
in studying both fighters for ISIS

627
00:30:42,050 --> 00:30:45,210
and against ISIS is motivation.

628
00:30:45,210 --> 00:30:47,650
Motivation, motivation, motivation,

629
00:30:47,650 --> 00:30:51,500
for self-sacrifice, for adventure.

630
00:30:51,500 --> 00:30:54,160
Michael Enright had this motivation

631
00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:56,440
to a very high degree.

632
00:30:56,440 --> 00:31:00,100
Despite the hedonistic life that he had in Hollywood,

633
00:31:00,100 --> 00:31:03,470
there was something missing, a gaping hole,

634
00:31:03,470 --> 00:31:06,143
and for him it meant something very, very specific.

635
00:31:07,190 --> 00:31:11,283
The motivation for significance, to matter, to be somebody.

636
00:31:12,170 --> 00:31:14,420
Michael is the product, by his own account,

637
00:31:14,420 --> 00:31:17,300
of a very unhappy childhood home.

638
00:31:17,300 --> 00:31:21,943
He describes his father as a tough guy, abusive.

639
00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:30,280
I first met Michael at a really young age.

640
00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:33,240
Growing up in Manchester was extremely violent

641
00:31:34,270 --> 00:31:36,810
for me and Michael, especially when you come from

642
00:31:36,810 --> 00:31:41,810
a violent upbringing and you're being physically,

643
00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:48,713
emotionally, and mentally punished.

644
00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:53,383
Yeah, I got hit a lot.

645
00:31:54,620 --> 00:31:57,070
I got sometimes put in hospital.

646
00:31:57,070 --> 00:31:58,923
My dad would go too far.

647
00:32:00,207 --> 00:32:02,157
I'd go to school with lumps on me head.

648
00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:04,840
Sometimes my dad would black my eye,

649
00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:07,963
break my fingers and stuff.

650
00:32:09,990 --> 00:32:10,883
So it was tough.

651
00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:16,113
I would be crying from the emotional pain of that happening.

652
00:32:17,700 --> 00:32:20,460
Somebody who loved you, who was supposed to protect you

653
00:32:20,460 --> 00:32:21,513
was abusing you.

654
00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:24,890
And I was getting hurt every day.

655
00:32:24,890 --> 00:32:27,590
So when I was 16 years old, I moved out of that house.

656
00:32:29,370 --> 00:32:33,620
Michael's father like mine beat him severely.

657
00:32:33,620 --> 00:32:36,180
I think that's one of the reasons

658
00:32:36,180 --> 00:32:39,557
that makes us the hard characters we are.

659
00:32:39,557 --> 00:32:44,557
And also being there for people who are vulnerable,

660
00:32:44,930 --> 00:32:48,643
needy, and bullied.

661
00:32:51,270 --> 00:32:55,200
Michael Enright, his father punished him.

662
00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:56,033
He was tough.

663
00:32:56,033 --> 00:32:58,090
He wanted to show that he's just as tough,

664
00:32:58,090 --> 00:33:01,480
but he's tough in a very positive way.

665
00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:04,600
He adapted an ideology of protection,

666
00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:07,253
of standing up for the weak and downtrodden.

667
00:33:08,810 --> 00:33:11,210
That was one of the biggest reasons I'd gone

668
00:33:11,210 --> 00:33:13,340
is because they were raping these women

669
00:33:13,340 --> 00:33:14,710
and these little girls.

670
00:33:14,710 --> 00:33:17,670
These Daesh fighters we're bidding on

671
00:33:17,670 --> 00:33:19,570
one of the little Yazidi girls.

672
00:33:19,570 --> 00:33:20,810
I used to keep that on my phone

673
00:33:20,810 --> 00:33:23,100
and before we'd go on an operation I'd watch it,

674
00:33:23,100 --> 00:33:24,480
just to sort of go, ah ha.

675
00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:27,766
That's who we're going for, that's who we're going for.

676
00:33:27,766 --> 00:33:29,270
You know, that's who I'm gonna fight.

677
00:33:29,270 --> 00:33:32,381
So I was ready, I was absolutely ready.

678
00:33:32,381 --> 00:33:37,381
(men yell)
(dramatic music)

679
00:33:38,450 --> 00:33:41,130
People that joined the YPG, I would give them credit

680
00:33:41,130 --> 00:33:42,450
that they wanted to fight something

681
00:33:42,450 --> 00:33:43,810
that we all want to fight.

682
00:33:43,810 --> 00:33:45,970
I mean, I don't ever wanna pick up a gun,

683
00:33:45,970 --> 00:33:48,350
but I certainly wanna see ISIS defeated.

684
00:33:48,350 --> 00:33:51,663
So I'm thankful to whoever did pick up guns to defeat them.

685
00:33:53,190 --> 00:33:56,060
Band of brothers, this idea of band of brothers

686
00:33:56,060 --> 00:33:59,030
who die together, who are facing death together,

687
00:33:59,030 --> 00:34:03,640
this is a kind of fusion, the kind of glue

688
00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:06,833
that keeps people together more than anything else.

689
00:34:08,370 --> 00:34:12,640
As far as my experience, as far as it comes to the YPG,

690
00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:13,778
yeah, they all loved each other.

691
00:34:13,778 --> 00:34:14,850
It was like a big family.

692
00:34:14,850 --> 00:34:15,950
This one I love him.

693
00:34:17,482 --> 00:34:19,130
I love you.

694
00:34:19,130 --> 00:34:22,730
Remember Michael is someone that wasn't appreciated

695
00:34:22,730 --> 00:34:25,090
in his own family by his father.

696
00:34:25,090 --> 00:34:26,860
He's found a new family.

697
00:34:26,860 --> 00:34:29,873
And this family is a family of heroes.

698
00:34:35,075 --> 00:34:38,755
There was one person who became really close to me.

699
00:34:38,755 --> 00:34:40,960
You know, he was almost like family.

700
00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:41,893
His name was Ciya.

701
00:34:44,223 --> 00:34:46,300
Ciya was my commander.

702
00:34:46,300 --> 00:34:49,343
And he put me under his wing.

703
00:34:50,900 --> 00:34:51,733
He was great.

704
00:34:51,733 --> 00:34:53,680
He used to wear a cowboy hat.

705
00:34:53,680 --> 00:34:56,520
He was this insane Kurd.

706
00:34:56,520 --> 00:34:58,290
Was insane in so many ways.

707
00:34:58,290 --> 00:34:59,510
He was so funny.

708
00:34:59,510 --> 00:35:01,100
He was a rapper.

709
00:35:01,100 --> 00:35:02,810
This is our commander.

710
00:35:02,810 --> 00:35:06,110
This is Heval Ciya, but he's also known as a rap star.

711
00:35:06,110 --> 00:35:07,500
He's the Kurdish rapper.

712
00:35:07,500 --> 00:35:09,649
Rap baby, go.

713
00:35:09,649 --> 00:35:13,816
(Ciya raps in a foreign language)

714
00:35:30,778 --> 00:35:33,730
Wow, that's how we do it Kurdish style.

715
00:35:33,730 --> 00:35:36,880
And he was so funny because we'd be on the front

716
00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:39,360
and all hell would be breaking loose.

717
00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:41,280
We just heard a mortar go off.

718
00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:44,500
So we're waiting for, here we are.

719
00:35:44,500 --> 00:35:45,740
Except brave man over there.

720
00:35:45,740 --> 00:35:46,719
Get down!

721
00:35:46,719 --> 00:35:50,419
(Michael speaks in a foreign language)

722
00:35:50,419 --> 00:35:51,252
Here we go.

723
00:35:51,252 --> 00:35:52,738
(mortar explodes)

724
00:35:52,738 --> 00:35:55,880
Everyone's like (Michael speaks in a foreign language)

725
00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:56,800
Get down, get down.

726
00:35:56,800 --> 00:35:59,350
And we'd all be running for cover.

727
00:35:59,350 --> 00:36:01,161
So you get as close as you can.

728
00:36:01,161 --> 00:36:02,611
Oh, I can hear it.

729
00:36:02,611 --> 00:36:05,278
(mortar blasts)

730
00:36:06,787 --> 00:36:08,750
And Ciya, he's walking 'round on his radio,

731
00:36:08,750 --> 00:36:09,830
like, ya, bada, bada, bada.

732
00:36:09,830 --> 00:36:10,850
I'm like, hey.

733
00:36:11,690 --> 00:36:15,000
Mr. Cool, Cool Hand Luke, he was just like Robert Duvall

734
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:16,100
in "Apocalypse Now."

735
00:36:16,100 --> 00:36:17,960
Everyone else is freaking and he's just walking

736
00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:21,380
like down the beach, like, Charlie's not gonna get me.

737
00:36:21,380 --> 00:36:22,213
Charlie doesn't see.

738
00:36:22,213 --> 00:36:23,470
He was so cool.

739
00:36:23,470 --> 00:36:26,617
(mortar blasts)

740
00:36:26,617 --> 00:36:27,640
(Michael speaks a foreign language)

741
00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:29,140
That'll wake you up.

742
00:36:29,140 --> 00:36:30,390
So, everybody knew Ciya

743
00:36:30,390 --> 00:36:32,600
and everybody really looked up to him.

744
00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:33,433
He was one of those commanders

745
00:36:33,433 --> 00:36:36,600
that really led from the front and the Kurds did that a lot.

746
00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:37,987
Our commanders that's one of the best things

747
00:36:37,987 --> 00:36:40,410
about the YPG was the leadership.

748
00:36:40,410 --> 00:36:41,700
I really respected them.

749
00:36:41,700 --> 00:36:43,483
I really respected them so much.

750
00:36:45,070 --> 00:36:48,580
One thing that a lot of people don't know about the YPG

751
00:36:48,580 --> 00:36:52,763
is that much of the leadership of the YPG is women.

752
00:36:54,430 --> 00:36:58,310
And they called it a feminist revolution, it really was.

753
00:36:58,310 --> 00:37:01,620
Up to that point, I always thought that women

754
00:37:01,620 --> 00:37:03,230
shouldn't be on the front line.

755
00:37:03,230 --> 00:37:06,140
Not because I'm macho man and we'll do the fighting.

756
00:37:06,140 --> 00:37:08,537
No, because I care about them.

757
00:37:08,537 --> 00:37:10,750
And I don't want them to get hurt.

758
00:37:10,750 --> 00:37:12,950
And it's like, if someone's gonna take a risk

759
00:37:12,950 --> 00:37:15,350
of losing their legs or getting shot in the face,

760
00:37:15,350 --> 00:37:18,400
I don't want it to be in your pretty face.

761
00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:19,670
I'll take that risk.

762
00:37:19,670 --> 00:37:21,490
And then, you meet the YPJ

763
00:37:22,857 --> 00:37:24,233
and it totally turns that on its head.

764
00:37:25,350 --> 00:37:28,980
Because all of a sudden those thoughts just leave you

765
00:37:28,980 --> 00:37:31,800
because they sure as hell don't need me to protect them.

766
00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:34,255
The YPJ don't need my protection.

767
00:37:34,255 --> 00:37:36,170
(machine gun blasts)

768
00:37:36,170 --> 00:37:39,410
I can remember one time in Tall Tamr we got ambushed

769
00:37:39,410 --> 00:37:42,170
by the Islamic State as we were trying to take a position.

770
00:37:42,170 --> 00:37:46,580
And I was hiding in the dirt because I was terrified.

771
00:37:46,580 --> 00:37:48,810
Bullets were smacking into the ground around me.

772
00:37:48,810 --> 00:37:49,840
They were screaming at us.

773
00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:51,280
They knew they got us.

774
00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:54,530
And I can remember turning to my left

775
00:37:54,530 --> 00:37:57,020
and seeing a young girl, who I knew was only 18 years old,

776
00:37:57,020 --> 00:38:02,020
stand up with an RPG, fire it at the Islamic State,

777
00:38:02,590 --> 00:38:05,220
swear at them and then obviously hit the dirt again

778
00:38:05,220 --> 00:38:07,890
and she didn't get shot, it was remarkable.

779
00:38:07,890 --> 00:38:10,010
And I can remember being shamed by it,

780
00:38:10,010 --> 00:38:12,670
thinking to myself, wow, these girls are brave,

781
00:38:12,670 --> 00:38:15,700
fighting and putting the fear of God

782
00:38:15,700 --> 00:38:17,450
into the people they were fighting.

783
00:38:18,300 --> 00:38:21,870
Because the Islamic State believed that if they were

784
00:38:21,870 --> 00:38:24,670
killed in battle by a woman they wouldn't get

785
00:38:24,670 --> 00:38:26,460
the rewards of a martyr.

786
00:38:26,460 --> 00:38:30,477
They wouldn't get the 72 virgins that was due them.

787
00:38:32,332 --> 00:38:36,749
(woman speaks in a foreign language)

788
00:38:52,850 --> 00:38:54,770
I think one of the reasons why I had a bond

789
00:38:54,770 --> 00:38:56,700
with the Kurds is because they have

790
00:38:56,700 --> 00:38:59,350
such self-respect for themselves.

791
00:38:59,350 --> 00:39:01,970
If someone has self-respect and shows you respect,

792
00:39:01,970 --> 00:39:04,510
how can you not fall in love with that?

793
00:39:04,510 --> 00:39:06,800
So I was committed to this fight

794
00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:08,480
and I never wanted to go home.

795
00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:11,790
I mean, I never wanted to go home until we'd taken Raqqa

796
00:39:11,790 --> 00:39:13,150
because that's their capital.

797
00:39:13,150 --> 00:39:16,353
That's like you invade in England and you take London.

798
00:39:17,704 --> 00:39:22,121
(woman speaks in a foreign language)

799
00:39:38,296 --> 00:39:41,440
But by the end of 2015, we hadn't taken Raqqa.

800
00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:42,660
We'd been in a sort of hold

801
00:39:42,660 --> 00:39:46,560
and there was gonna be many, many months of doing nothing.

802
00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:49,600
So I had already completed my six months tour.

803
00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:52,310
So I thought this would be a good time to take a break,

804
00:39:52,310 --> 00:39:54,780
to go and see my mother and my sister.

805
00:39:54,780 --> 00:39:56,950
And then my plan was I'd come back

806
00:39:56,950 --> 00:39:58,833
in time for the Raqqa operation.

807
00:40:00,158 --> 00:40:02,991
(dramatic music)

808
00:40:08,180 --> 00:40:11,070
When Michael flies to Mexico,

809
00:40:11,070 --> 00:40:16,070
this undeniable problem sort of dawns on him

810
00:40:18,240 --> 00:40:19,683
as he's coming home.

811
00:40:20,830 --> 00:40:23,890
That he has been living in the United States

812
00:40:23,890 --> 00:40:27,430
for three decades on a tourist visa

813
00:40:27,430 --> 00:40:32,030
that has been expired for three decades.

814
00:40:32,030 --> 00:40:35,283
And he has to figure out a way to come back home.

815
00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:37,773
Think about that.

816
00:40:39,250 --> 00:40:43,290
He figures that the San Ysidro border crossing

817
00:40:43,290 --> 00:40:47,023
is the most busy border crossing in the United States.

818
00:40:48,100 --> 00:40:52,200
And he figures that he can do what he always does,

819
00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:54,210
which is act.

820
00:40:54,210 --> 00:40:56,813
And he will just blend in with the crowd.

821
00:40:57,750 --> 00:41:00,180
And of course it does not work out.

822
00:41:00,180 --> 00:41:01,863
Of course he is caught.

823
00:41:04,290 --> 00:41:06,150
I was stopped at the border

824
00:41:06,150 --> 00:41:10,440
'cause I'd over stayed my visa and they took my phone.

825
00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:15,070
And I remember an immigration officer, a young guy,

826
00:41:15,070 --> 00:41:17,353
came back and went, "What's this?"

827
00:41:19,250 --> 00:41:23,130
And he showed footage from my headcam

828
00:41:23,130 --> 00:41:27,270
from my first tour, when we fought Daesh.

829
00:41:27,270 --> 00:41:29,910
We just put all the bodies together.

830
00:41:29,910 --> 00:41:31,310
And I had footage of that.

831
00:41:31,310 --> 00:41:33,290
And he said, "What is this?"

832
00:41:33,290 --> 00:41:35,470
He said, "I just, what's all these dead bodies.

833
00:41:35,470 --> 00:41:37,570
You got footage of dead people on your phone."

834
00:41:37,570 --> 00:41:39,417
I went, "Oh yeah, I was a soldier,

835
00:41:39,417 --> 00:41:41,010
I just came back from Syria."

836
00:41:41,010 --> 00:41:44,124
And then boom, so Homeland Security came immediately.

837
00:41:44,124 --> 00:41:45,460
(dramatic music)

838
00:41:45,460 --> 00:41:47,510
I told them all I could.

839
00:41:47,510 --> 00:41:48,683
Told them everything.

840
00:41:49,650 --> 00:41:51,160
He is detained.

841
00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:54,890
And he is put in one of these horrible detention centers,

842
00:41:54,890 --> 00:41:57,220
where the lights are on all day

843
00:41:57,220 --> 00:42:02,220
and you're stuffed into a small cell with many, many people.

844
00:42:02,220 --> 00:42:07,220
And it is there that he says that he had

845
00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:09,810
this very special encounter

846
00:42:09,810 --> 00:42:12,363
with U.S. law enforcement officials.

847
00:42:13,860 --> 00:42:16,010
I remember there was one interview

848
00:42:16,010 --> 00:42:19,870
and I went in there and there was an intelligence officer.

849
00:42:19,870 --> 00:42:20,703
She was blonde.

850
00:42:20,703 --> 00:42:24,790
And she said, you know, she'd try and help me solve,

851
00:42:24,790 --> 00:42:26,601
work it out with them.

852
00:42:26,601 --> 00:42:28,376
And we had a long conversation about it.

853
00:42:28,376 --> 00:42:30,876
And that's when I started to hear about the deals.

854
00:42:32,130 --> 00:42:37,130
Michael says that he was given this extraordinary offer.

855
00:42:38,220 --> 00:42:43,120
An offer to have his immigration problems disappear

856
00:42:44,220 --> 00:42:48,360
if he was able to go back to Syria

857
00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:53,360
and provide actionable intelligence about ISIS.

858
00:42:55,370 --> 00:42:58,450
And they said, you know, "If you can help us

859
00:42:58,450 --> 00:43:01,120
get a bad guy, we'll let you come home."

860
00:43:01,120 --> 00:43:02,177
I said, "Well, how are you gonna do that?"

861
00:43:02,177 --> 00:43:03,670
And they said, "We're the American government,

862
00:43:03,670 --> 00:43:05,840
we can do anything we want."

863
00:43:05,840 --> 00:43:07,080
I said, "Okay."

864
00:43:07,080 --> 00:43:11,790
The most elusive character in the Michael Enright story

865
00:43:11,790 --> 00:43:16,790
is the woman he calls Laura, the blonde lady.

866
00:43:16,840 --> 00:43:21,840
She is the woman that he says offered him this amazing deal.

867
00:43:24,470 --> 00:43:27,230
There's no video documentation of that.

868
00:43:27,230 --> 00:43:31,460
There's no paper documentation of that.

869
00:43:31,460 --> 00:43:34,110
The question is whether it's his naivete

870
00:43:35,120 --> 00:43:39,310
or is there a deeper psychological reason

871
00:43:39,310 --> 00:43:44,050
why he believed the woman that allegedly made him the offer?

872
00:43:44,050 --> 00:43:49,050
It all hinges on his great motivation to be recognized.

873
00:43:51,040 --> 00:43:53,770
What the woman was suggesting to him,

874
00:43:53,770 --> 00:43:56,590
do this one thing for America

875
00:43:56,590 --> 00:44:00,580
and you will be recognized and probably welcome,

876
00:44:00,580 --> 00:44:03,850
given a hero's welcome, or at least a visa

877
00:44:03,850 --> 00:44:06,680
in recognition of your great contribution

878
00:44:06,680 --> 00:44:11,430
to our fight against terrorism, against ISIS.

879
00:44:11,430 --> 00:44:13,593
So that's when I decided to return to Syria

880
00:44:13,593 --> 00:44:17,100
and gather intelligence about the Islamic State.

881
00:44:17,100 --> 00:44:19,620
And the next thing I knew I was being put on a plane

882
00:44:19,620 --> 00:44:21,910
with three Homeland Security agents

883
00:44:21,910 --> 00:44:23,830
and I was escorted back to England.

884
00:44:25,500 --> 00:44:27,700
And then there was this other really crazy thing

885
00:44:27,700 --> 00:44:30,470
that I had significant doubts about.

886
00:44:30,470 --> 00:44:34,880
And that was that his deportation

887
00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:37,660
had this very unusual element to it.

888
00:44:37,660 --> 00:44:42,660
That he was flown to England by three

889
00:44:44,920 --> 00:44:48,003
law enforcement officials of the United States.

890
00:44:49,110 --> 00:44:54,110
To me, that sounded really off the charts.

891
00:44:54,260 --> 00:44:55,600
But guess what?

892
00:44:55,600 --> 00:44:58,570
That checked out, that was something

893
00:44:58,570 --> 00:45:01,550
that we were able to confirm on the record,

894
00:45:01,550 --> 00:45:04,683
officially from the United States government.

895
00:45:05,600 --> 00:45:07,363
I went back to England.

896
00:45:08,800 --> 00:45:10,430
I spent some time with my family

897
00:45:11,850 --> 00:45:15,900
and then in June, 2016, I went back to Syria

898
00:45:15,900 --> 00:45:18,873
to try and get a bad guy just like I promised.

899
00:45:23,070 --> 00:45:23,903
Hey!

900
00:45:28,070 --> 00:45:32,400
(Michael speaks a foreign language)

901
00:45:32,400 --> 00:45:33,600
It's so good to see you.

902
00:45:35,217 --> 00:45:37,356
Ah, I missed you so much.

903
00:45:37,356 --> 00:45:40,189
(dramatic music)

904
00:45:42,070 --> 00:45:44,400
The second time really was about Raqqa,

905
00:45:44,400 --> 00:45:46,000
because I wanted to go to Raqqa.

906
00:45:48,077 --> 00:45:51,540
But also, that was an ingredient in it.

907
00:45:51,540 --> 00:45:53,000
If I can get intelligence.

908
00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:58,000
We just found this, which is obviously some type of mine.

909
00:45:58,970 --> 00:46:01,040
This is a training.

910
00:46:01,040 --> 00:46:04,630
This is what they designed for their training center.

911
00:46:04,630 --> 00:46:06,410
I wanted to search for intelligence

912
00:46:06,410 --> 00:46:09,010
so I could go home to America.

913
00:46:09,010 --> 00:46:11,890
I went to fight at the front

914
00:46:12,890 --> 00:46:16,673
and I had been without any internet access.

915
00:46:18,220 --> 00:46:23,180
I got back from the front, went on to check my Facebook

916
00:46:23,180 --> 00:46:25,790
because that's the only way I was in contact with people

917
00:46:25,790 --> 00:46:28,993
and I read this Facebook post that Jordan Matson had done.

918
00:46:31,750 --> 00:46:35,480
Jordan Matson said Michael was unstable.

919
00:46:35,480 --> 00:46:37,880
That he was a danger to himself and to others.

920
00:46:37,880 --> 00:46:39,910
That the Kurds did not like him

921
00:46:39,910 --> 00:46:44,560
and that they had taken off the pin of his Kalashnikov,

922
00:46:44,560 --> 00:46:47,610
that he had tried to commit suicide,

923
00:46:47,610 --> 00:46:51,060
and that authorities should do something

924
00:46:51,060 --> 00:46:53,070
to remove him from Aujerby.

925
00:46:53,070 --> 00:46:55,303
He had posted this on his Facebook page.

926
00:46:57,590 --> 00:47:00,473
Let's talk about your boy, Michael Enright, all right.

927
00:47:01,330 --> 00:47:03,760
They tried putting him in four different actual combat,

928
00:47:03,760 --> 00:47:07,190
we're called tabors, or tacoms, which are smaller platoon

929
00:47:07,190 --> 00:47:08,240
and company levels.

930
00:47:08,240 --> 00:47:11,058
And he was systematically kicked out of each one

931
00:47:11,058 --> 00:47:13,210
for being mentally unstable.

932
00:47:13,210 --> 00:47:15,830
When you go into an army you get close

933
00:47:15,830 --> 00:47:18,540
with your other soldiers, and he was another soldier

934
00:47:18,540 --> 00:47:21,493
and I just couldn't believe it.

935
00:47:22,850 --> 00:47:24,750
Jordan Matson is one of the more interesting

936
00:47:24,750 --> 00:47:27,540
of the American volunteers who joined the YPG,

937
00:47:27,540 --> 00:47:29,660
first because he was among the first.

938
00:47:29,660 --> 00:47:32,623
He went to Syria, I believe in 2014.

939
00:47:34,870 --> 00:47:36,767
He was all over the media.

940
00:47:36,767 --> 00:47:39,500
And he was on Fox News all the time.

941
00:47:39,500 --> 00:47:42,752
They really put him up there.

942
00:47:42,752 --> 00:47:44,110
(upbeat music)

943
00:47:44,110 --> 00:47:46,040
My next guest is an American veteran

944
00:47:46,040 --> 00:47:47,950
and a Christian who traveled to Iraq

945
00:47:47,950 --> 00:47:51,850
to fight with the Kurds in Northern Iraq, against ISIS.

946
00:47:51,850 --> 00:47:53,337
I was looking for a way to join

947
00:47:53,337 --> 00:47:55,300
one of the militias fighting against ISIS.

948
00:47:55,300 --> 00:47:56,753
I just had enough off of it.

949
00:47:56,753 --> 00:47:57,610
And I decided if my government

950
00:47:57,610 --> 00:47:59,823
wasn't gonna do something I was.

951
00:48:01,000 --> 00:48:02,563
Me and several others are gonna stay here

952
00:48:02,563 --> 00:48:05,250
'til this fight is over with and see it through.

953
00:48:05,250 --> 00:48:07,640
And I thank you all for your support and your prayers.

954
00:48:07,640 --> 00:48:09,750
The YPG have been using him

955
00:48:09,750 --> 00:48:12,327
as their face for the westerners.

956
00:48:12,327 --> 00:48:14,957
And so he was all over the media.

957
00:48:14,957 --> 00:48:18,090
And they even gave him the nickname Captain Kurdistan,

958
00:48:18,090 --> 00:48:21,090
instead of Captain America, they gave him Captain Kurdistan.

959
00:48:23,210 --> 00:48:24,690
Beating the Islamic State required

960
00:48:24,690 --> 00:48:27,580
having competent forces on the ground,

961
00:48:27,580 --> 00:48:31,080
willing to engage in close combat with the Islamic State.

962
00:48:31,080 --> 00:48:32,810
And the United States was not willing to do that,

963
00:48:32,810 --> 00:48:36,337
which is why we depended so heavily upon the YPG

964
00:48:36,337 --> 00:48:38,703
and the western volunteers of the YPG.

965
00:48:40,360 --> 00:48:45,360
Jordan, he was the first one that actually recommended

966
00:48:46,230 --> 00:48:47,233
helping the Kurds.

967
00:48:48,720 --> 00:48:53,720
He really, really, really has been essential

968
00:48:53,910 --> 00:48:57,640
to helping guys get over there.

969
00:48:57,640 --> 00:49:00,270
And yeah, he's a good guy.

970
00:49:00,270 --> 00:49:02,600
I have a lot of respect for him.

971
00:49:02,600 --> 00:49:07,600
He had 30,000 fans following him on Facebook.

972
00:49:08,380 --> 00:49:11,020
And hundreds and hundreds of people

973
00:49:11,020 --> 00:49:14,120
that liked and commented on this story.

974
00:49:14,120 --> 00:49:16,960
The Daily Mail and other newspapers wrote

975
00:49:16,960 --> 00:49:20,203
more articles, negative articles.

976
00:49:21,850 --> 00:49:24,270
That's how I got involved with Michael's story.

977
00:49:24,270 --> 00:49:27,030
I was following it 'cause I knew him before he left.

978
00:49:27,030 --> 00:49:28,270
We were friendly.

979
00:49:28,270 --> 00:49:31,470
And then I read the articles

980
00:49:31,470 --> 00:49:34,790
and it was ridiculous I thought.

981
00:49:34,790 --> 00:49:37,750
They have these accusations by Matson, they were a lot

982
00:49:37,750 --> 00:49:39,040
and they went viral.

983
00:49:39,040 --> 00:49:41,750
And it was clear to me that you really gotta step through

984
00:49:41,750 --> 00:49:45,233
each accusation one at a time and look into it.

985
00:49:45,233 --> 00:49:46,940
Right now, basically from what I'm told

986
00:49:46,940 --> 00:49:49,470
from our chain of command, is he travels with them

987
00:49:49,470 --> 00:49:52,923
because he says he's making a movie or a documentary.

988
00:49:53,990 --> 00:49:56,877
I had heard that some people were thinking,

989
00:49:56,877 --> 00:50:00,150
ah, he's a movie star coming here for publicity.

990
00:50:00,150 --> 00:50:03,087
We ended up talking to all of these people

991
00:50:03,087 --> 00:50:07,570
who have nom de guerres and come from places

992
00:50:07,570 --> 00:50:10,380
all over the world, not just the United States,

993
00:50:10,380 --> 00:50:12,560
Spain, other parts of Europe.

994
00:50:12,560 --> 00:50:15,770
This is a really kind of eclectic group

995
00:50:15,770 --> 00:50:19,203
of very interesting and unique people.

996
00:50:20,640 --> 00:50:25,030
Some of these people think that he was not sincere

997
00:50:25,900 --> 00:50:27,850
in what he was doing.

998
00:50:27,850 --> 00:50:32,590
So this is my first day, Heval, here, camera here, no.

999
00:50:32,590 --> 00:50:35,720
Even among his fellow volunteers,

1000
00:50:35,720 --> 00:50:37,820
they saw a guy from Hollywood.

1001
00:50:37,820 --> 00:50:42,360
They thought maybe he was trying to enhance his career,

1002
00:50:42,360 --> 00:50:45,450
give himself a boost, get better roles.

1003
00:50:45,450 --> 00:50:50,370
Move from being the supporting cast in the movie

1004
00:50:50,370 --> 00:50:52,490
to being the star.

1005
00:50:52,490 --> 00:50:54,033
Film this, are you filming?

1006
00:50:55,180 --> 00:50:58,547
Are you filming?

1007
00:50:58,547 --> 00:51:00,700
Heval, are you filming?

1008
00:51:00,700 --> 00:51:01,830
The accusation would have been,

1009
00:51:01,830 --> 00:51:04,060
oh, you're just here to make a film.

1010
00:51:04,060 --> 00:51:05,650
You're here for the glorification.

1011
00:51:05,650 --> 00:51:08,430
Surviving in being a successful Hollywood actor,

1012
00:51:08,430 --> 00:51:11,990
or semi-successful Hollywood actor flying in for six months,

1013
00:51:11,990 --> 00:51:14,820
get the story and then bug out the other way.

1014
00:51:14,820 --> 00:51:16,480
See you later, boys.

1015
00:51:16,480 --> 00:51:19,150
I think throughout history you can find foreign fighters

1016
00:51:19,150 --> 00:51:22,020
who have inflated their battlefield resume

1017
00:51:22,020 --> 00:51:24,480
or whether it's to sell memoirs

1018
00:51:24,480 --> 00:51:27,660
or because they like to tell tall tales.

1019
00:51:27,660 --> 00:51:29,220
There are always incentives for people,

1020
00:51:29,220 --> 00:51:31,230
especially maybe the extreme personalities

1021
00:51:31,230 --> 00:51:33,760
who go off to become a foreign fighter.

1022
00:51:33,760 --> 00:51:36,210
There are stories of people that joined the YPG

1023
00:51:37,060 --> 00:51:40,210
that just went there to have a picture of themselves

1024
00:51:40,210 --> 00:51:45,210
with a gun, and they joined for good and for bad reasons.

1025
00:51:45,660 --> 00:51:47,763
And you know, sometimes it was a photo op.

1026
00:51:48,980 --> 00:51:50,579
So, get us both in.

1027
00:51:50,579 --> 00:51:52,579
Okay, okay, so get us both in.

1028
00:51:52,579 --> 00:51:53,606
Yes.
Yeah.

1029
00:51:53,606 --> 00:51:56,010
Some people come with diaries and GoPros

1030
00:51:56,010 --> 00:51:57,840
looking for fame, you know.

1031
00:51:57,840 --> 00:52:00,050
I was given the task by Michael Enright

1032
00:52:00,050 --> 00:52:02,870
to find him a camera in Sulaymaniyah in Iraq.

1033
00:52:02,870 --> 00:52:06,060
A GoPro camera that was able to shoot

1034
00:52:06,060 --> 00:52:09,590
the quality of footage that he was after.

1035
00:52:09,590 --> 00:52:13,380
And this camera was just absolutely crucial

1036
00:52:13,380 --> 00:52:17,150
in getting his story out to the world.

1037
00:52:17,150 --> 00:52:19,308
Thank you, this is my cameraman.

1038
00:52:19,308 --> 00:52:20,501
Shukran.

1039
00:52:20,501 --> 00:52:22,834
(kids yell)

1040
00:52:24,750 --> 00:52:26,110
There you go.

1041
00:52:26,110 --> 00:52:27,960
Looks like Daesh is finished here.

1042
00:52:29,610 --> 00:52:30,930
You come there with all these things

1043
00:52:30,930 --> 00:52:32,040
to record what you're doing,

1044
00:52:32,040 --> 00:52:33,610
and you're not really there to fight.

1045
00:52:33,610 --> 00:52:35,300
I mean, maybe part of you is,

1046
00:52:35,300 --> 00:52:38,090
but that's not the main reason you're there.

1047
00:52:38,090 --> 00:52:38,923
Heval.

1048
00:52:38,923 --> 00:52:40,810
Not the first time I've been miced.

1049
00:52:40,810 --> 00:52:43,243
They want to ask you about YPJ.

1050
00:52:44,200 --> 00:52:46,164
I think there was animosity towards him

1051
00:52:46,164 --> 00:52:47,350
because he was an actor.

1052
00:52:47,350 --> 00:52:49,020
Lot of the people that were coming there

1053
00:52:49,020 --> 00:52:52,370
were ex-professional soldiers.

1054
00:52:52,370 --> 00:52:55,340
And they had a tendency to consider people

1055
00:52:55,340 --> 00:52:58,470
that were not as wannabes.

1056
00:52:58,470 --> 00:53:00,340
I guess they were saying that he was in places

1057
00:53:00,340 --> 00:53:02,670
where there were never, where he was never even fighting.

1058
00:53:02,670 --> 00:53:05,323
And it was just like, what are you doing?

1059
00:53:06,620 --> 00:53:08,840
On the right, this is close to where I was.

1060
00:53:08,840 --> 00:53:10,540
This is close to where we were fighting.

1061
00:53:10,540 --> 00:53:12,780
Some of the bullet holes in this building

1062
00:53:12,780 --> 00:53:14,053
are from my Kalash.

1063
00:53:15,060 --> 00:53:18,190
When you have certain people that show up

1064
00:53:18,190 --> 00:53:21,440
and come over there for the wrong reasons,

1065
00:53:21,440 --> 00:53:26,313
they can tarnish what it is that the rest of us are doing.

1066
00:53:27,440 --> 00:53:30,490
You know, I'm going to the front again.

1067
00:53:30,490 --> 00:53:35,490
And you know, if you go, you go, that's the way that is.

1068
00:53:37,660 --> 00:53:38,640
Yeah.

1069
00:53:38,640 --> 00:53:40,820
I don't even understand what you're talking about.

1070
00:53:40,820 --> 00:53:42,030
Go over there and go frigging

1071
00:53:42,030 --> 00:53:43,801
and fill up a water pail or something.

1072
00:53:43,801 --> 00:53:44,634
You know what I mean?

1073
00:53:44,634 --> 00:53:46,263
The big boys are here now.

1074
00:53:46,263 --> 00:53:47,920
(Anthony chuckles)

1075
00:53:47,920 --> 00:53:49,900
If you wanted to throw on a YPG uniform

1076
00:53:49,900 --> 00:53:53,400
and sort of hang around in the rear area

1077
00:53:53,400 --> 00:53:56,107
with the headquarters, you could have done that.

1078
00:53:56,107 --> 00:53:59,460
And it makes it look like you're really involved,

1079
00:53:59,460 --> 00:54:00,293
but not be.

1080
00:54:01,330 --> 00:54:03,000
Michael was doing lot of filming,

1081
00:54:03,000 --> 00:54:05,190
so it could have looked to some people

1082
00:54:05,190 --> 00:54:08,720
like it was a career boost to build his ego.

1083
00:54:08,720 --> 00:54:10,610
The difference between me and a lotta the guys that join,

1084
00:54:10,610 --> 00:54:13,700
a lotta the guys don't have prior military training.

1085
00:54:13,700 --> 00:54:16,253
Obviously, he wasn't a trained fighter,

1086
00:54:17,260 --> 00:54:20,183
but is he a danger like Jordan Matson claimed?

1087
00:54:21,490 --> 00:54:23,030
There were a lot of guys that weren't

1088
00:54:23,030 --> 00:54:25,520
ex-military or whatever, but they definitely

1089
00:54:25,520 --> 00:54:30,160
had to get their shit together rickety tick.

1090
00:54:30,160 --> 00:54:32,600
I had a lot of laughs with Mike, you know what I mean?

1091
00:54:32,600 --> 00:54:33,920
I don't know if I'd wanna, you know,

1092
00:54:33,920 --> 00:54:36,010
be in a combat situation with him.

1093
00:54:36,010 --> 00:54:39,300
I wouldn't mind being at a bar with him, I'll tell ya that.

1094
00:54:39,300 --> 00:54:41,360
I don't know if I want him, you know,

1095
00:54:41,360 --> 00:54:45,163
watching my back during a firefight.

1096
00:54:46,250 --> 00:54:50,510
Michael Enright kinda has like a loud personality

1097
00:54:50,510 --> 00:54:51,860
and maybe a lotta guys felt like,

1098
00:54:51,860 --> 00:54:54,950
who's this old British dude, you know,

1099
00:54:54,950 --> 00:54:56,400
that's never been in the military.

1100
00:54:56,400 --> 00:54:58,643
I guess people resent that kind of stuff.

1101
00:54:59,690 --> 00:55:01,450
You know, and you're not gonna jeopardize my life

1102
00:55:01,450 --> 00:55:04,170
and you're not gonna jeopardize anybody else's life.

1103
00:55:04,170 --> 00:55:05,810
This was the main issue for people

1104
00:55:05,810 --> 00:55:07,990
with no previous military experience

1105
00:55:07,990 --> 00:55:11,240
is that they were too eager to fight.

1106
00:55:11,240 --> 00:55:14,210
They didn't understand what it really meant.

1107
00:55:14,210 --> 00:55:19,210
And they didn't realize that it was not the game

1108
00:55:19,887 --> 00:55:21,870
and you're gonna get killed, or you gonna

1109
00:55:21,870 --> 00:55:24,098
get the other people in trouble.

1110
00:55:24,098 --> 00:55:26,037
(gun blasts)

1111
00:55:26,037 --> 00:55:27,620
Stop, stop, stop.

1112
00:55:28,688 --> 00:55:32,214
(gun blasts)
No, no, no.

1113
00:55:32,214 --> 00:55:33,330
What do you mean, no, no, no.

1114
00:55:33,330 --> 00:55:35,590
Every time Mustafa, no, no, no.

1115
00:55:35,590 --> 00:55:38,411
Everyone else (Michael speaks a foreign language)

1116
00:55:38,411 --> 00:55:39,350
(guns blast)

1117
00:55:39,350 --> 00:55:42,150
Some of these guys being the one that you are gonna

1118
00:55:42,150 --> 00:55:44,890
be fighting alongside of, you are gonna have to depend

1119
00:55:44,890 --> 00:55:48,980
on him to return fire while you reloaded your magazine,

1120
00:55:48,980 --> 00:55:52,162
or spotted, you know, movement coming towards you,

1121
00:55:52,162 --> 00:55:55,030
or any kinda situation like that,

1122
00:55:55,030 --> 00:55:58,330
it was definitely a concern that some of those guys

1123
00:55:58,330 --> 00:55:59,810
that were there for the wrong reason,

1124
00:55:59,810 --> 00:56:04,603
being able to perform like that under pressure.

1125
00:56:06,330 --> 00:56:07,610
Hold it for me.

1126
00:56:07,610 --> 00:56:08,903
Stay still, Jesus.

1127
00:56:10,649 --> 00:56:13,437
At the moment, I'm doing security for him.

1128
00:56:22,249 --> 00:56:25,797
Which is kind of weird 'cause I mean,

1129
00:56:25,797 --> 00:56:29,418
I'd like to smash the, fucking smash the shit out of him.

1130
00:56:29,418 --> 00:56:32,510
I would've liked to kick him right in his fucking mouth.

1131
00:56:32,510 --> 00:56:35,090
So, why'd you start fucking bullshitting me motherfucker?

1132
00:56:35,090 --> 00:56:36,440
Huh?

1133
00:56:36,440 --> 00:56:38,020
How many fuckers did you rape?

1134
00:56:38,020 --> 00:56:39,920
Bitch, how about that?

1135
00:56:39,920 --> 00:56:42,960
Now, which do you wanna fucking do, motherfucker?

1136
00:56:42,960 --> 00:56:44,632
You wanna start telling the truth,

1137
00:56:44,632 --> 00:56:46,920
or do you wanna start fucking lying?

1138
00:56:46,920 --> 00:56:48,220
Which do you fucking want?

1139
00:56:50,024 --> 00:56:50,857
They were going to war,

1140
00:56:50,857 --> 00:56:53,080
let's not make bones about this.

1141
00:56:53,080 --> 00:56:54,810
There's one air strike.

1142
00:56:54,810 --> 00:56:57,517
You know he had no formal military training, at all.

1143
00:56:59,660 --> 00:57:02,893
And you can't guarantee what your mental status will be

1144
00:57:02,893 --> 00:57:05,240
in a situation like that, until you've actually been

1145
00:57:05,240 --> 00:57:06,534
in a situation like that.

1146
00:57:06,534 --> 00:57:08,540
(gun blasts)

1147
00:57:08,540 --> 00:57:10,417
We killed a lot of people fighting Daesh.

1148
00:57:10,417 --> 00:57:12,960
And we just put all the bodies together,

1149
00:57:12,960 --> 00:57:14,050
just left 'em there to rot.

1150
00:57:14,050 --> 00:57:16,450
And the dogs would come very often and eat them.

1151
00:57:17,630 --> 00:57:19,030
Which is rather fitting for them to go that way,

1152
00:57:19,030 --> 00:57:20,493
actually if you ask me.

1153
00:57:21,630 --> 00:57:25,300
He thought it was just perfect that the dogs

1154
00:57:25,300 --> 00:57:28,210
were eating the heads of the ISIS fighters.

1155
00:57:28,210 --> 00:57:33,210
So here you see that within this man is some real rage.

1156
00:57:34,190 --> 00:57:38,430
It's not exactly the reaction that everyone would have

1157
00:57:38,430 --> 00:57:43,070
to seeing a human being's head being eaten by a dog.

1158
00:57:43,070 --> 00:57:43,903
Yeah, Raqqa.

1159
00:57:43,903 --> 00:57:47,496
Me and you, you fucking dirty motherfucker.

1160
00:57:47,496 --> 00:57:49,560
(man speaks in a foreign language)

1161
00:57:49,560 --> 00:57:52,190
Oh, oh, you forgot the piece of shit.

1162
00:57:52,190 --> 00:57:54,083
You forgot the piece of fucking shit.

1163
00:57:55,304 --> 00:57:59,554
(man speaks in a foreign language)

1164
00:58:04,020 --> 00:58:06,960
Jordan Matson said that Michael Enright

1165
00:58:06,960 --> 00:58:09,860
was bragging about taking part of combat,

1166
00:58:09,860 --> 00:58:12,810
which he never did because he didn't have a weapon

1167
00:58:12,810 --> 00:58:14,193
he could actually use.

1168
00:58:15,302 --> 00:58:17,500
Did they really take the bolt out of his AK?

1169
00:58:17,500 --> 00:58:20,410
Yes, sir (beep) a man from New Zealand,

1170
00:58:20,410 --> 00:58:22,805
he will confirm that to you as well.

1171
00:58:22,805 --> 00:58:24,100
He just went on, it was never ending.

1172
00:58:24,100 --> 00:58:26,980
These accusations that the Kurds wanted to kill him.

1173
00:58:26,980 --> 00:58:28,660
And then he'd say that Mike was disrespecting

1174
00:58:28,660 --> 00:58:30,360
other westerners for his own gain.

1175
00:58:31,810 --> 00:58:34,110
I was told he sold the story of Reece Harding,

1176
00:58:34,110 --> 00:58:36,350
who recently died, he sold some pictures

1177
00:58:36,350 --> 00:58:38,503
to Australian Channel 7.

1178
00:58:39,468 --> 00:58:41,480
Reece Harding was a friend of mine.

1179
00:58:41,480 --> 00:58:43,463
And he steps on a mine.

1180
00:58:47,228 --> 00:58:51,490
And I had this footage of him and he'd just been killed.

1181
00:58:51,490 --> 00:58:54,260
Matson had said, I got paid to give that.

1182
00:58:54,260 --> 00:58:56,663
And he just wouldn't stop.

1183
00:58:58,200 --> 00:59:00,815
So the question is, are all these accusations true?

1184
00:59:00,815 --> 00:59:03,648
(dramatic music)

1185
00:59:07,440 --> 00:59:12,440
I met Jordan Matson on the way over to Syria.

1186
00:59:12,580 --> 00:59:16,650
He found out that I was an actor

1187
00:59:16,650 --> 00:59:19,050
and he said some disparaging remarks about that.

1188
00:59:20,088 --> 00:59:23,540
"Oh, that's all we need, you know, an actor out here."

1189
00:59:23,540 --> 00:59:26,910
And it was no big deal, and we went and we played chess

1190
00:59:26,910 --> 00:59:30,030
and he beat me, which means he's good,

1191
00:59:30,030 --> 00:59:32,310
'cause I'm quite good chess player.

1192
00:59:32,310 --> 00:59:34,300
Matson had a little bit of military service.

1193
00:59:34,300 --> 00:59:36,170
I think he served for about a year.

1194
00:59:36,170 --> 00:59:38,070
It's a little unclear of why he was

1195
00:59:38,070 --> 00:59:39,350
no longer in the U.S. Army.

1196
00:59:39,350 --> 00:59:42,480
It sounds like the U.S. Army put him out of the army.

1197
00:59:42,480 --> 00:59:44,210
After just a year in the army,

1198
00:59:44,210 --> 00:59:47,690
Matson says he was forced to leave in 2007

1199
00:59:47,690 --> 00:59:49,410
due to emotional stress.

1200
00:59:49,410 --> 00:59:52,120
I couldn't go back because they said I had PTSD.

1201
00:59:52,120 --> 00:59:53,720
You have to understand Jordan Matson

1202
00:59:53,720 --> 00:59:55,800
was someone who were in the American army,

1203
00:59:55,800 --> 00:59:58,530
but was never deployed and was there

1204
00:59:58,530 --> 01:00:00,070
for a short amount of time.

1205
01:00:00,070 --> 01:00:02,869
In 2014, when we created this new

1206
01:00:02,869 --> 01:00:04,730
international volunteer slide,

1207
01:00:04,730 --> 01:00:06,860
Jordan Matson was the face that we used

1208
01:00:06,860 --> 01:00:08,550
in the international media.

1209
01:00:08,550 --> 01:00:10,450
On the ground tonight is Jordan Matson,

1210
01:00:10,450 --> 01:00:12,317
a former U.S. soldier who went to fight against

1211
01:00:12,317 --> 01:00:15,550
the Islamic State with the Kurds in Northern Syria.

1212
01:00:15,550 --> 01:00:19,430
So how did people react to you when they see you

1213
01:00:19,430 --> 01:00:21,080
and realize you're from the U.S.?

1214
01:00:22,120 --> 01:00:23,916
They ask me if I'll come over for dinner

1215
01:00:23,916 --> 01:00:25,157
and stay the night at their house.

1216
01:00:25,157 --> 01:00:28,730
And this guy has started to spread lies

1217
01:00:28,730 --> 01:00:31,040
about Michael, saying that, oh, you're an actor.

1218
01:00:31,040 --> 01:00:32,250
You're just here for the photos

1219
01:00:32,250 --> 01:00:34,479
and the Kurds did not like him,

1220
01:00:34,479 --> 01:00:37,352
or that he was an unstable person,

1221
01:00:37,352 --> 01:00:40,730
that they had taken the bolt out of his gun.

1222
01:00:40,730 --> 01:00:44,283
The danger of not having a firing pin in your weapon is,

1223
01:00:45,290 --> 01:00:48,040
hell, you think you have a functional weapon.

1224
01:00:48,040 --> 01:00:49,580
It would be essentially driving your car

1225
01:00:49,580 --> 01:00:51,360
and your brakes don't work.

1226
01:00:51,360 --> 01:00:54,873
I mean, you basically send someone in a lion's den unarmed.

1227
01:00:55,840 --> 01:00:58,360
We don't send anyone to the front lines

1228
01:00:58,360 --> 01:01:01,177
without a bullets which they can use to kill

1229
01:01:01,177 --> 01:01:02,780
and to protect themselves.

1230
01:01:02,780 --> 01:01:07,220
We don't send, especially an international volunteer

1231
01:01:07,220 --> 01:01:08,520
from Hollywood.

1232
01:01:08,520 --> 01:01:10,680
So, first thing he did, he came to check in,

1233
01:01:10,680 --> 01:01:11,690
he showed me his gun.

1234
01:01:11,690 --> 01:01:13,349
And I checked it, the bolt was there,

1235
01:01:13,349 --> 01:01:14,269
detonation was there,

1236
01:01:14,269 --> 01:01:15,520
so it was a fully functioning Kalashnikov.

1237
01:01:15,520 --> 01:01:17,463
And this story was bullshit.

1238
01:01:18,730 --> 01:01:20,220
As for Matson's claim that Michael

1239
01:01:20,220 --> 01:01:22,040
was there for a career boost

1240
01:01:22,040 --> 01:01:25,100
or to film himself doing cool stuff,

1241
01:01:25,100 --> 01:01:27,300
you have to remember it was the YPG

1242
01:01:27,300 --> 01:01:29,743
that asked Michael to film.

1243
01:01:31,150 --> 01:01:33,790
When I first came here in March,

1244
01:01:33,790 --> 01:01:36,400
beginning of March in 2015,

1245
01:01:36,400 --> 01:01:40,120
one of the leaders, he asked me to do this job,

1246
01:01:40,120 --> 01:01:45,120
which was to work with a headcam and to film.

1247
01:01:45,200 --> 01:01:47,260
And I said, "I came to fight."

1248
01:01:47,260 --> 01:01:48,640
I said, "Do I get to still fight?"

1249
01:01:48,640 --> 01:01:51,140
And he said, "You have a gun.

1250
01:01:51,140 --> 01:01:52,207
It's not a violin."

1251
01:01:53,570 --> 01:01:56,690
I thought, I said, "Where would you like me to film?"

1252
01:01:56,690 --> 01:01:59,720
He said, "Anywhere there's fighting."

1253
01:01:59,720 --> 01:02:02,750
And I knew from talking to some of the westerns already

1254
01:02:03,618 --> 01:02:05,463
that one of the frustrations that the westerners had

1255
01:02:05,463 --> 01:02:08,110
is that they didn't get to fight sometimes.

1256
01:02:08,110 --> 01:02:10,200
I said, "Am I going to different tabors?"

1257
01:02:10,200 --> 01:02:11,680
You know different units.

1258
01:02:11,680 --> 01:02:13,340
He said, "Yeah, one unit is not fighting,

1259
01:02:13,340 --> 01:02:14,949
you go to the other one."

1260
01:02:14,949 --> 01:02:17,213
I thought, oh, ding.

1261
01:02:17,213 --> 01:02:19,500
But to do it, he gave me a note.

1262
01:02:19,500 --> 01:02:23,830
And what that note says is allow me to go

1263
01:02:27,540 --> 01:02:29,620
back and forth to the front.

1264
01:02:29,620 --> 01:02:31,230
And so it gives me freedom of movement

1265
01:02:31,230 --> 01:02:32,980
that really no other westerner has.

1266
01:02:34,230 --> 01:02:37,460
I'm not surprised at all that Michael was given the task

1267
01:02:37,460 --> 01:02:41,970
by the YPG and YPJ to actually utilize his skills,

1268
01:02:41,970 --> 01:02:43,284
tell their story.

1269
01:02:43,284 --> 01:02:45,533
And I'm very glad he did.

1270
01:02:46,496 --> 01:02:50,829
(Nuri speaks in a foreign language)

1271
01:03:03,600 --> 01:03:06,967
Michael's reputation with us at the YPG, us Kurds,

1272
01:03:06,967 --> 01:03:08,570
was actually very good.

1273
01:03:08,570 --> 01:03:11,110
And to see that you have left Hollywood,

1274
01:03:11,110 --> 01:03:13,550
you have left your name that you have created

1275
01:03:13,550 --> 01:03:16,727
throughout years to come to just give it away like that

1276
01:03:16,727 --> 01:03:19,490
for people who doesn't even know your face and name,

1277
01:03:19,490 --> 01:03:20,493
that's honorable.

1278
01:03:21,580 --> 01:03:22,413
So tell us what happened.

1279
01:03:22,413 --> 01:03:24,330
You was just walking along and you

1280
01:03:24,330 --> 01:03:26,213
and your mate found this mine, huh?

1281
01:03:28,060 --> 01:03:30,070
And how about the accusation that Michael had profited

1282
01:03:30,070 --> 01:03:34,180
by selling footage of a fallen Australian soldier.

1283
01:03:34,180 --> 01:03:36,620
New video has emerged showing the Gold Coast's

1284
01:03:36,620 --> 01:03:39,030
Reece Harding in his final days.

1285
01:03:39,030 --> 01:03:40,600
Clearing landmines placed

1286
01:03:40,600 --> 01:03:43,000
by Islamic State militants in Syria.

1287
01:03:43,000 --> 01:03:46,440
Obtained by 7News, this soldier's helmet cam

1288
01:03:46,440 --> 01:03:49,280
records the 23-year-old Australian

1289
01:03:49,280 --> 01:03:52,167
known to his Kurdish mates as Heval Bagok.

1290
01:03:52,167 --> 01:03:55,270
When I had that footage of Reece,

1291
01:03:55,270 --> 01:03:57,480
I find out he died and made a lot of inquiries,

1292
01:03:57,480 --> 01:04:00,270
and I find out his mom and dad they live in Australia,

1293
01:04:00,270 --> 01:04:01,750
Michelle and Keith.

1294
01:04:01,750 --> 01:04:04,620
And I've got footage of her son

1295
01:04:04,620 --> 01:04:08,980
and I found out her details and ask her

1296
01:04:08,980 --> 01:04:10,530
if she wants this footage or not.

1297
01:04:10,530 --> 01:04:12,120
And I sent it to her and she got back to me,

1298
01:04:12,120 --> 01:04:12,953
thank you for that.

1299
01:04:12,953 --> 01:04:14,410
And I said, "Listen," I said,

1300
01:04:14,410 --> 01:04:18,440
do you want me to release this to the media in Australia?

1301
01:04:18,440 --> 01:04:20,300
Because I think he's an Australian hero."

1302
01:04:20,300 --> 01:04:21,830
I said, "Well, if you don't, I won't."

1303
01:04:21,830 --> 01:04:24,280
And she said, "Honor him everywhere."

1304
01:04:24,280 --> 01:04:25,250
I said, "Okay."

1305
01:04:25,250 --> 01:04:28,410
So I gave it to, I think it was Channel 7 over there.

1306
01:04:28,410 --> 01:04:29,617
I just gave it to them and said,

1307
01:04:29,617 --> 01:04:30,860
"The only reason you've got it is 'cause

1308
01:04:30,860 --> 01:04:32,970
she gave me permission to give it you."

1309
01:04:35,823 --> 01:04:40,156
(Nuri speaks in a foreign language)

1310
01:04:56,067 --> 01:04:59,317
I am very glad for all the volunteers who joined us,

1311
01:04:59,317 --> 01:05:02,630
but there are also a lot of difference between them.

1312
01:05:02,630 --> 01:05:03,680
From what I have read,

1313
01:05:03,680 --> 01:05:06,190
the reports from my own fellow commanders,

1314
01:05:06,190 --> 01:05:09,270
Jordan is not someone who was known by us

1315
01:05:09,270 --> 01:05:10,840
as someone who was truthful.

1316
01:05:10,840 --> 01:05:13,490
And Jordan Matson's lies it still sticks

1317
01:05:13,490 --> 01:05:15,630
with a lot international volunteers,

1318
01:05:15,630 --> 01:05:19,740
and unfortunately the news, especially in the western light,

1319
01:05:19,740 --> 01:05:20,573
what they see.

1320
01:05:20,573 --> 01:05:22,430
So you have one guy who's tall

1321
01:05:22,430 --> 01:05:24,390
and who looks handsome in the news,

1322
01:05:24,390 --> 01:05:25,670
and people fall for that.

1323
01:05:25,670 --> 01:05:27,590
Then you have someone who is more older

1324
01:05:27,590 --> 01:05:29,103
and people like, oh, you haven't done

1325
01:05:29,103 --> 01:05:31,980
what this Rambo-looking guy has done.

1326
01:05:31,980 --> 01:05:34,373
Well, the truth is it's totally opposite.

1327
01:05:35,470 --> 01:05:38,420
I wrote the Daily Mail a long letter

1328
01:05:38,420 --> 01:05:41,940
about how they got the story completely wrong.

1329
01:05:41,940 --> 01:05:45,650
And how in the world could they take a Facebook post

1330
01:05:45,650 --> 01:05:47,453
and destroy somebody's life with it.

1331
01:05:49,455 --> 01:05:51,575
(men laugh)

1332
01:05:51,575 --> 01:05:53,330
I just started to pray for him.

1333
01:05:53,330 --> 01:05:55,020
And I didn't stop praying for him.

1334
01:05:55,020 --> 01:05:57,870
I never stopped praying for Jordan Matson.

1335
01:05:57,870 --> 01:05:59,230
I prayed for him all the time.

1336
01:05:59,230 --> 01:06:00,970
I prayed every day.

1337
01:06:00,970 --> 01:06:03,600
I don't think Matson knows Michael.

1338
01:06:03,600 --> 01:06:06,600
And if he did, he wouldn't be saying those things about him.

1339
01:06:07,760 --> 01:06:10,960
I'm glad to see that Matson's story

1340
01:06:10,960 --> 01:06:12,670
has been completely dismissed

1341
01:06:12,670 --> 01:06:15,743
and found to be the outright lies that they are.

1342
01:06:17,570 --> 01:06:21,420
Just because Mike may have dimmed his shine

1343
01:06:21,420 --> 01:06:24,640
or may have put him in the back seat or the back burner,

1344
01:06:24,640 --> 01:06:28,480
it does not give him the right to say the things

1345
01:06:28,480 --> 01:06:30,833
that he said and to do what he did.

1346
01:06:32,650 --> 01:06:35,810
I think the guy's personally just a piece of shit.

1347
01:06:35,810 --> 01:06:37,040
I'm a veteran in the U.S. Army.

1348
01:06:37,040 --> 01:06:39,120
And we don't talk about each other in the press.

1349
01:06:39,120 --> 01:06:42,050
We don't talk about each other on social media.

1350
01:06:42,050 --> 01:06:45,040
This is a brotherhood and I may be retired,

1351
01:06:45,040 --> 01:06:46,940
but I still know how to work my hands.

1352
01:06:48,210 --> 01:06:51,763
So if you talk shit about people that I know, that I love,

1353
01:06:52,920 --> 01:06:54,710
then you must be prepared to back it up.

1354
01:06:54,710 --> 01:06:56,780
And if you fall on your sword for some bullshit

1355
01:06:56,780 --> 01:06:57,840
then you gotta be prepared for me

1356
01:06:57,840 --> 01:07:00,280
to walk over your fucking dead body.

1357
01:07:00,280 --> 01:07:02,893
And that's how I feel about people talking shit about Mike.

1358
01:07:11,518 --> 01:07:12,900
But you know what really pissed me off

1359
01:07:12,900 --> 01:07:16,440
about the Matson thing is it ended up it was just jealousy,

1360
01:07:16,440 --> 01:07:18,440
and pettiness, and gossip.

1361
01:07:18,440 --> 01:07:20,670
And it just distracted from the real crisis,

1362
01:07:20,670 --> 01:07:22,320
the real reason I was over there.

1363
01:07:22,320 --> 01:07:24,460
The fact that ISIS was killing these

1364
01:07:24,460 --> 01:07:27,230
innocent Kurds and Yazidis.

1365
01:07:27,230 --> 01:07:30,150
I wasn't there to do tittle tattle and internet gossip.

1366
01:07:30,150 --> 01:07:32,113
I was there to kill ISIS.

1367
01:07:32,970 --> 01:07:35,250
The fighting in Syria was horrendous.

1368
01:07:35,250 --> 01:07:37,200
It was dark.

1369
01:07:37,200 --> 01:07:38,390
It was confusing.

1370
01:07:38,390 --> 01:07:39,690
It was nightmarish.

1371
01:07:39,690 --> 01:07:41,820
It was chaotic.

1372
01:07:41,820 --> 01:07:44,870
Our nostrils were full of the smell of the dead,

1373
01:07:44,870 --> 01:07:47,360
the smell of the air strikes.

1374
01:07:47,360 --> 01:07:48,800
The mortars were just constant.

1375
01:07:48,800 --> 01:07:50,200
The snipers were everywhere.

1376
01:07:51,300 --> 01:07:52,820
It was pretty full on.

1377
01:07:52,820 --> 01:07:55,320
And this was the start of the big push into Raqqa.

1378
01:07:56,198 --> 01:07:58,190
(mortar blasts)

1379
01:07:58,190 --> 01:08:00,610
And number one operation we were moving out

1380
01:08:00,610 --> 01:08:02,063
and I was in the mortar pit.

1381
01:08:02,960 --> 01:08:05,600
We were firing mortars and trying to get their position

1382
01:08:05,600 --> 01:08:08,250
and they were mortaring trying to get our mortar pit.

1383
01:08:09,410 --> 01:08:11,620
And some of the Kurds were going 'round the corner

1384
01:08:11,620 --> 01:08:14,423
to start an operation, they were walking past.

1385
01:08:15,353 --> 01:08:17,640
And one of the YPJ said hi to me.

1386
01:08:17,640 --> 01:08:19,120
She said, "Hey, Mustafa."

1387
01:08:19,120 --> 01:08:20,480
And I recognized her.

1388
01:08:20,480 --> 01:08:21,313
She went, hi.

1389
01:08:21,313 --> 01:08:22,890
And I said, "Oh, hey."

1390
01:08:22,890 --> 01:08:27,120
And I said hi to her and within five seconds

1391
01:08:27,120 --> 01:08:28,980
of her saying hi to me

1392
01:08:28,980 --> 01:08:31,660
(mortar blasts)

1393
01:08:31,660 --> 01:08:33,490
one of the ISIS mortars came in,

1394
01:08:33,490 --> 01:08:35,580
injured one of them very badly

1395
01:08:35,580 --> 01:08:37,623
and killed the guy in front of her.

1396
01:08:39,030 --> 01:08:43,403
So, that was a mortar that just came at us, this time.

1397
01:08:44,390 --> 01:08:45,910
So we're gonna move out of the way here.

1398
01:08:45,910 --> 01:08:47,160
Someone just got injured.

1399
01:08:48,463 --> 01:08:52,305
Oh, we just got a really bad injury right now, fuck.

1400
01:08:52,305 --> 01:08:55,940
(man speaks in a foreign language)

1401
01:08:55,940 --> 01:08:59,420
And Ciya, boom, was right over there.

1402
01:08:59,420 --> 01:09:00,470
Picked up the guy.

1403
01:09:00,470 --> 01:09:02,200
We didn't know, 'cause you don't know whether he's dead

1404
01:09:02,200 --> 01:09:04,370
or he's just badly injured.

1405
01:09:04,370 --> 01:09:05,961
Ran him back.

1406
01:09:05,961 --> 01:09:09,792
(Ciya speaks in a foreign language)

1407
01:09:09,792 --> 01:09:14,042
(man speaks in a foreign language)

1408
01:09:17,335 --> 01:09:21,668
(Ciya speaks in a foreign language)

1409
01:09:29,667 --> 01:09:30,967
You never get over that.

1410
01:09:32,776 --> 01:09:34,403
I mean, one minute there's your heval,

1411
01:09:34,403 --> 01:09:36,763
who's been in the trenches next to you.

1412
01:09:37,920 --> 01:09:40,190
And then next minute, they're carrying his body out.

1413
01:09:40,190 --> 01:09:41,023
He's dead.

1414
01:09:42,510 --> 01:09:43,883
It gets to you, you know.

1415
01:09:45,157 --> 01:09:47,143
And it got to everybody, I think.

1416
01:09:50,577 --> 01:09:53,290
But Ciya was the guy who knew what to say,

1417
01:09:53,290 --> 01:09:54,347
to all of us.

1418
01:09:55,626 --> 01:10:00,043
(Ciya speaks in a foreign language)

1419
01:10:44,190 --> 01:10:46,990
Speaking with Michael about some of his time in Syria,

1420
01:10:48,310 --> 01:10:49,870
I mean, some of the things he saw,

1421
01:10:49,870 --> 01:10:52,094
I don't know how he coped with it.

1422
01:10:52,094 --> 01:10:53,610
I don't know if I could have coped with it.

1423
01:10:53,610 --> 01:10:57,210
So, two children have just been killed an hour ago.

1424
01:10:57,210 --> 01:10:59,970
They found some unexploded mines.

1425
01:10:59,970 --> 01:11:01,891
You could hardly tell, can you imagine.

1426
01:11:01,891 --> 01:11:03,950
It's no wonder kids, you know,

1427
01:11:03,950 --> 01:11:07,684
they're playing in their streets that they live in.

1428
01:11:07,684 --> 01:11:08,517
And they got an eight-year-old

1429
01:11:08,517 --> 01:11:09,880
and a four-year-old who are dead.

1430
01:11:09,880 --> 01:11:11,967
One hour ago were quite happy, were playing.

1431
01:11:11,967 --> 01:11:15,073
And then, you know, they stand on the Daesh mine.

1432
01:11:17,533 --> 01:11:19,750
Just the pain that the Kurds

1433
01:11:19,750 --> 01:11:22,530
and the Arabs of that region have had

1434
01:11:22,530 --> 01:11:25,853
is unbelievable, unbelievable.

1435
01:11:26,920 --> 01:11:28,763
Look at that, little baby.

1436
01:11:28,763 --> 01:11:30,665
Look at that, little baby.

1437
01:11:30,665 --> 01:11:31,498
Oi!

1438
01:11:33,800 --> 01:11:36,093
Woke up this morning, playing.

1439
01:11:38,270 --> 01:11:40,549
Have a good look at that Daesh.

1440
01:11:40,549 --> 01:11:41,382
Have a good look at that.

1441
01:11:41,382 --> 01:11:43,383
That's the grandfather there, that's the grandfather.

1442
01:11:43,383 --> 01:11:45,059
Have a good look at that.

1443
01:11:45,059 --> 01:11:45,898
(man speaks in a foreign language)

1444
01:11:45,898 --> 01:11:47,731
That's what you did.

1445
01:11:49,454 --> 01:11:50,510
Now we're gonna go outside

1446
01:11:50,510 --> 01:11:52,703
and see all these female relatives.

1447
01:11:54,890 --> 01:11:58,020
And it just, the pain that they receive is just,

1448
01:11:58,020 --> 01:12:01,720
it's insurmountable and it breaks your heart.

1449
01:12:01,720 --> 01:12:02,947
You know, it breaks your heart.

1450
01:12:02,947 --> 01:12:03,910
(woman speaks in a foreign language)

1451
01:12:03,910 --> 01:12:04,743
Oh mama.

1452
01:12:04,743 --> 01:12:05,576
(woman speaks in a foreign language)

1453
01:12:05,576 --> 01:12:06,490
Mama.

1454
01:12:06,490 --> 01:12:08,648
(woman speaks in a foreign language)

1455
01:12:08,648 --> 01:12:10,453
Oh, ma, mama, mama.

1456
01:12:12,920 --> 01:12:15,707
God help you, darling, God help you, God help you.

1457
01:12:15,707 --> 01:12:18,323
And I looked at her and I just was like, wow,

1458
01:12:19,230 --> 01:12:20,950
just like, wow.

1459
01:12:20,950 --> 01:12:22,803
What do you say to somebody like that?

1460
01:12:22,803 --> 01:12:26,708
(Michael speaks in a foreign language)

1461
01:12:26,708 --> 01:12:29,450
Oh, bro, I don't have any words to say to you,

1462
01:12:29,450 --> 01:12:31,630
but brother, God bless you.

1463
01:12:31,630 --> 01:12:33,270
God bless you, man.

1464
01:12:33,270 --> 01:12:36,560
Oh Lord, help this, help this fella right now.

1465
01:12:36,560 --> 01:12:38,187
Oh Lord, help him.

1466
01:12:38,187 --> 01:12:39,020
In the name Lord, help him.

1467
01:12:43,476 --> 01:12:46,143
(Michael sighs)

1468
01:12:48,326 --> 01:12:51,735
When something like that happens makes you really determined

1469
01:12:51,735 --> 01:12:55,323
to end Daesh, to kill them.

1470
01:12:56,590 --> 01:12:58,830
An integral part of understanding

1471
01:12:58,830 --> 01:13:03,220
the Michael Enright story is understanding the love affair

1472
01:13:03,220 --> 01:13:06,780
that he ends up having with the Kurdish people.

1473
01:13:06,780 --> 01:13:10,080
And when he's over there in Syria,

1474
01:13:10,080 --> 01:13:15,080
he is going to his default, which is to entertain people.

1475
01:13:16,340 --> 01:13:20,290
So in these quiet moments, in between battles,

1476
01:13:20,290 --> 01:13:22,840
he's doing magic tricks for the kids.

1477
01:13:22,840 --> 01:13:23,760
Watch, watch.

1478
01:13:23,760 --> 01:13:25,623
And they laugh.

1479
01:13:26,520 --> 01:13:29,920
That was for him, this huge victory,

1480
01:13:29,920 --> 01:13:32,300
because he didn't just want to go over there

1481
01:13:32,300 --> 01:13:33,960
and fight for the Kurds.

1482
01:13:33,960 --> 01:13:38,240
He wanted them to appreciate it and to like him personally.

1483
01:13:38,240 --> 01:13:40,623
Hocus pocus.

1484
01:13:40,623 --> 01:13:41,621
(children giggle)

1485
01:13:41,621 --> 01:13:43,030
Wow!

1486
01:13:43,030 --> 01:13:43,990
Give me five.

1487
01:13:43,990 --> 01:13:45,212
Give me five.

1488
01:13:45,212 --> 01:13:47,970
Boom, boom, boom, boom.

1489
01:13:47,970 --> 01:13:52,930
Sometimes you see little glimpses of Michael,

1490
01:13:52,930 --> 01:13:57,930
perhaps trying to right some historical wrong.

1491
01:13:58,430 --> 01:14:00,130
Salamu alaykum.

1492
01:14:00,130 --> 01:14:03,890
And provide this happy place for these children

1493
01:14:03,890 --> 01:14:06,570
in very dark circumstances,

1494
01:14:06,570 --> 01:14:11,063
that he didn't have in his own childhood.

1495
01:14:12,680 --> 01:14:15,500
He was treated violently by his father,

1496
01:14:15,500 --> 01:14:18,630
so when he saw other victims,

1497
01:14:18,630 --> 01:14:22,320
when he saw the foul acts of ISIS,

1498
01:14:22,320 --> 01:14:25,680
he was saying to himself and to the world,

1499
01:14:25,680 --> 01:14:28,250
no, I won't let this happen.

1500
01:14:28,250 --> 01:14:29,820
I will stand for justice.

1501
01:14:29,820 --> 01:14:31,610
I will stand for victims.

1502
01:14:31,610 --> 01:14:33,143
I will be a man.

1503
01:14:34,660 --> 01:14:38,653
And a man not like my father, I will use violence for good.

1504
01:14:40,600 --> 01:14:43,340
Mike is a real frontline soldier.

1505
01:14:43,340 --> 01:14:44,290
The proof's in the pudding.

1506
01:14:44,290 --> 01:14:47,720
I mean, he has a headcam, I mean there's footage out.

1507
01:14:47,720 --> 01:14:49,453
You can't fake the funk on that.

1508
01:14:50,850 --> 01:14:54,470
And there's something else about this.

1509
01:14:54,470 --> 01:14:59,470
He in his own mind decides that he's willing to die,

1510
01:15:02,130 --> 01:15:06,003
not just willing to die, but expects to die.

1511
01:15:07,070 --> 01:15:10,380
It's a very different thing to be scared of dying

1512
01:15:12,180 --> 01:15:13,863
and to expect to die.

1513
01:15:14,860 --> 01:15:17,483
Michael expected to die.

1514
01:15:19,210 --> 01:15:22,300
I was on an operation once, we'd taken Mahmoodalay

1515
01:15:22,300 --> 01:15:25,410
and we were going into Sudea and it was a big village,

1516
01:15:25,410 --> 01:15:26,710
and there were civilians,

1517
01:15:26,710 --> 01:15:29,009
which always complicates things.

1518
01:15:29,009 --> 01:15:30,544
(Michael speaks in a foreign language)

1519
01:15:30,544 --> 01:15:34,000
(man speaks in a foreign language)

1520
01:15:34,000 --> 01:15:36,260
I keep walking and I see a little boy.

1521
01:15:36,260 --> 01:15:38,220
And he was white.

1522
01:15:38,220 --> 01:15:40,190
He's scared this one, he's scared.

1523
01:15:40,190 --> 01:15:44,857
(Michael speaks in a foreign language)

1524
01:15:45,710 --> 01:15:49,620
But everything about this, my intuition was saying,

1525
01:15:49,620 --> 01:15:50,980
there's something wrong here.

1526
01:15:50,980 --> 01:15:54,570
And one of the soldiers puts his gun down.

1527
01:15:54,570 --> 01:15:57,900
Well, if you're a soldier and you put your gun down,

1528
01:15:57,900 --> 01:15:59,690
that means it's okay.

1529
01:15:59,690 --> 01:16:02,510
So I go over and I see this beautiful little boy.

1530
01:16:02,510 --> 01:16:04,410
So I put my gun down and I tried to do

1531
01:16:04,410 --> 01:16:06,767
a magic trick for him.

1532
01:16:06,767 --> 01:16:09,180
And he's not having it and he's crying.

1533
01:16:09,180 --> 01:16:12,384
And so my intuition was going, there's a problem here,

1534
01:16:12,384 --> 01:16:14,569
there's a problem here, there's a problem here,

1535
01:16:14,569 --> 01:16:17,040
there's a problem here, and it kept on getting louder,

1536
01:16:17,040 --> 01:16:19,100
but I would see them asking for water.

1537
01:16:19,100 --> 01:16:20,927
And it was just like, well, maybe it's okay.

1538
01:16:20,927 --> 01:16:23,280
And I start telling him in Arabic,

1539
01:16:23,280 --> 01:16:25,919
I ask her, his mom, his name.

1540
01:16:25,919 --> 01:16:30,586
(Michael speaks in a foreign language)

1541
01:16:32,440 --> 01:16:34,540
And now, I'm a little further from my gun.

1542
01:16:35,390 --> 01:16:36,370
Huge mistake.

1543
01:16:36,370 --> 01:16:38,840
When I saw the other soldier put the gun down,

1544
01:16:38,840 --> 01:16:40,500
I shouldn't have done it, mistake.

1545
01:16:40,500 --> 01:16:44,110
So I turn the camera off and literally within four seconds

1546
01:16:44,110 --> 01:16:47,753
of me turning the camera off all hell lets rip.

1547
01:16:48,689 --> 01:16:50,639
Bah, bah, bah, bah, bah.

1548
01:16:50,639 --> 01:16:53,253
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar!

1549
01:16:53,253 --> 01:16:55,600
And all the civilians go, argh!

1550
01:16:55,600 --> 01:16:58,290
All the women run, all the civilians freakin' run.

1551
01:16:58,290 --> 01:16:59,540
So it's an ambush, we got ambushed.

1552
01:16:59,540 --> 01:17:01,370
And I can't get to my gun

1553
01:17:01,370 --> 01:17:03,640
because all the machine gun bullets are all coming

1554
01:17:03,640 --> 01:17:05,280
right around my gun.

1555
01:17:05,280 --> 01:17:08,460
And my unit have looked up and they just go wham.

1556
01:17:08,460 --> 01:17:09,293
And they run.

1557
01:17:09,293 --> 01:17:11,180
So I just went inside this little room.

1558
01:17:11,180 --> 01:17:14,170
Well, now, I'm in an ISIS house,

1559
01:17:14,170 --> 01:17:16,057
with ISIS soldiers all around me,

1560
01:17:16,057 --> 01:17:17,860
and my Kalash is outside.

1561
01:17:17,860 --> 01:17:20,360
And it was the scariest time of my life.

1562
01:17:20,360 --> 01:17:21,490
Not that I was gonna die,

1563
01:17:21,490 --> 01:17:23,610
but I knew I was gonna get tortured.

1564
01:17:23,610 --> 01:17:25,220
Had Michael been captured

1565
01:17:25,220 --> 01:17:27,920
at any point during his involvement with YPG,

1566
01:17:27,920 --> 01:17:32,110
his certain death would not been a quick one.

1567
01:17:32,110 --> 01:17:35,070
The media was full of orange boiler suits and beheadings,

1568
01:17:35,070 --> 01:17:36,260
and to put it lightly they were getting

1569
01:17:36,260 --> 01:17:38,620
quite imaginative towards the end.

1570
01:17:38,620 --> 01:17:40,183
He would have been a showcase.

1571
01:17:41,080 --> 01:17:45,143
It was all emotion, I was just petrified of torture.

1572
01:17:46,470 --> 01:17:48,720
But then something happened.

1573
01:17:48,720 --> 01:17:51,220
The Brits and the Americans had not give us enough equipment

1574
01:17:51,220 --> 01:17:53,030
so that we could all have a grenade each,

1575
01:17:53,030 --> 01:17:55,760
but I'd taken one off ISIS.

1576
01:17:55,760 --> 01:18:00,030
All of this is all from Daesh, including those grenades.

1577
01:18:00,030 --> 01:18:03,710
And so, I'm gonna nab one of them.

1578
01:18:03,710 --> 01:18:07,800
We'd come across ISIS, and I'd taken a grenade.

1579
01:18:07,800 --> 01:18:11,143
And as soon as I realized that I pulled the grenade out.

1580
01:18:12,056 --> 01:18:14,050
You'll have to forgive me for those people who are atheists

1581
01:18:14,050 --> 01:18:17,620
or agnostics, but I felt the grace of God

1582
01:18:17,620 --> 01:18:22,620
just go shh, all over me.

1583
01:18:24,000 --> 01:18:25,500
And I wasn't scared anymore.

1584
01:18:25,500 --> 01:18:27,530
I remember at one point I actually

1585
01:18:27,530 --> 01:18:29,040
turned the camera on myself

1586
01:18:29,040 --> 01:18:31,440
because I thought I might not make it out of here.

1587
01:18:31,440 --> 01:18:33,140
But I thought even if they come in,

1588
01:18:33,140 --> 01:18:36,300
maybe the SD card from the camera might survive

1589
01:18:36,300 --> 01:18:38,720
and at least people get to know what happened to me.

1590
01:18:38,720 --> 01:18:40,850
So I just held the grenade under my head,

1591
01:18:40,850 --> 01:18:43,310
put my finger in the pin and I was gonna time it,

1592
01:18:43,310 --> 01:18:45,320
so that by the time they got over to me,

1593
01:18:45,320 --> 01:18:49,420
it would have been Allahu Akbar, God is great,

1594
01:18:49,420 --> 01:18:51,560
and you're going to hell you bitch.

1595
01:18:51,560 --> 01:18:53,760
What might have been going through Michael's mind

1596
01:18:53,760 --> 01:18:57,940
as he was hiding with a grenade to his throat,

1597
01:18:57,940 --> 01:18:59,410
and why would he do that?

1598
01:18:59,410 --> 01:19:02,550
Why would he think of taking his own life?

1599
01:19:02,550 --> 01:19:04,710
It's one thing to die.

1600
01:19:04,710 --> 01:19:07,300
It's a quite another thing to die in the way

1601
01:19:07,300 --> 01:19:09,350
that ISIS would have you die.

1602
01:19:09,350 --> 01:19:13,320
That's a much worse alternative than letting the pin go

1603
01:19:13,320 --> 01:19:14,720
and blowing yourself up.

1604
01:19:14,720 --> 01:19:19,720
Dying in a full consciousness that you've done

1605
01:19:19,830 --> 01:19:21,700
what you set out to do.

1606
01:19:21,700 --> 01:19:23,890
That's not a bad way to die.

1607
01:19:23,890 --> 01:19:25,387
Altogether, I was trapped in that house

1608
01:19:25,387 --> 01:19:27,850
with a grenade at my head 19 hours.

1609
01:19:27,850 --> 01:19:30,520
And then the next morning sunrise.

1610
01:19:30,520 --> 01:19:32,380
6:30, they're not coming in yet.

1611
01:19:32,380 --> 01:19:34,360
Seven o'clock, they're not coming in yet.

1612
01:19:34,360 --> 01:19:36,200
7:30, they're not coming in yet.

1613
01:19:36,200 --> 01:19:37,940
Eight o'clock, they're not coming in yet.

1614
01:19:37,940 --> 01:19:41,100
I just thought I gotta go, I'm gonna make a run.

1615
01:19:41,100 --> 01:19:44,480
And I got not very far down and I saw them.

1616
01:19:44,480 --> 01:19:46,110
And they looked like they were in black.

1617
01:19:46,110 --> 01:19:48,110
And they were so far away.

1618
01:19:48,110 --> 01:19:50,290
And I heard 'em go, taeal, taeal,

1619
01:19:51,590 --> 01:19:53,670
which is Arabic for come, come here.

1620
01:19:53,670 --> 01:19:55,940
And so I knew what they was asking me to do

1621
01:19:55,940 --> 01:19:57,157
was come to them.

1622
01:19:57,157 --> 01:19:59,200
Well, that's ISIS, so I'm gonna get tortured

1623
01:19:59,200 --> 01:20:00,033
and killed there.

1624
01:20:00,033 --> 01:20:01,990
So I put my hands up and I started waving my hands

1625
01:20:01,990 --> 01:20:04,640
above my head, but it didn't work.

1626
01:20:04,640 --> 01:20:09,640
(dramatic music)
(guns blast)

1627
01:20:09,950 --> 01:20:11,540
They opened up on me and they started shooting.

1628
01:20:11,540 --> 01:20:13,840
And I don't know which way's home.

1629
01:20:13,840 --> 01:20:17,603
So I run and then I'm just running for my life, you know.

1630
01:20:19,315 --> 01:20:22,398
I've no fucking idea where I'm going.

1631
01:20:23,350 --> 01:20:25,350
And then I make a mistake

1632
01:20:25,350 --> 01:20:27,710
because I turned down the wrong street

1633
01:20:27,710 --> 01:20:30,360
and I hear, taeal, taeal.

1634
01:20:31,290 --> 01:20:33,405
Now they're much closer and it's the same men

1635
01:20:33,405 --> 01:20:34,238
who've just shot at me, and they're only about

1636
01:20:34,238 --> 01:20:36,040
300 meters from me now.

1637
01:20:36,040 --> 01:20:39,300
And I see two big Cs, two machine guns.

1638
01:20:39,300 --> 01:20:41,757
And so I just immediately turn towards them

1639
01:20:41,757 --> 01:20:45,850
and I'm waving my hands, but I'm walking towards ISIS.

1640
01:20:45,850 --> 01:20:47,310
I'm walking towards Daesh.

1641
01:20:47,310 --> 01:20:52,310
And about 20 yards, I hear from the top of the roof,

1642
01:20:52,620 --> 01:20:53,523
Mustafa, Mustafa.

1643
01:20:56,688 --> 01:21:01,688
I said, (Michael speaks in a foreign language).

1644
01:21:01,869 --> 01:21:04,550
It was my men, my own men had been shooting at me.

1645
01:21:04,550 --> 01:21:09,550
Well, those people who were asking me to go over there,

1646
01:21:12,000 --> 01:21:13,662
I didn't trust 'em.

1647
01:21:13,662 --> 01:21:15,540
They're my friends.

1648
01:21:15,540 --> 01:21:17,673
So, I've arrived.

1649
01:21:18,580 --> 01:21:20,120
Can you fuckin' believe that?

1650
01:21:20,120 --> 01:21:21,123
Shit, whew!

1651
01:21:22,810 --> 01:21:24,330
I couldn't believe I had done it.

1652
01:21:24,330 --> 01:21:27,140
And immediately, as soon as I knew I was safe,

1653
01:21:27,140 --> 01:21:30,490
my thoughts went, bang, I'm a soldier again.

1654
01:21:30,490 --> 01:21:32,920
And you know what I wanna do now?

1655
01:21:32,920 --> 01:21:35,670
Get a new gun and go straight back into

1656
01:21:35,670 --> 01:21:37,320
those dirty motherfuckers.

1657
01:21:37,320 --> 01:21:39,340
That's what I'm gonna do.

1658
01:21:39,340 --> 01:21:40,623
Fuck you Daesh.

1659
01:21:42,390 --> 01:21:45,381
(Michael speaks in a foreign language)

1660
01:21:45,381 --> 01:21:47,392
Hey, hey, hey, hey.

1661
01:21:47,392 --> 01:21:52,000
Hi, ya bugger! (Michael chuckles)

1662
01:21:52,000 --> 01:21:55,455
(Michael cheers)
(guns blast)

1663
01:21:55,455 --> 01:21:57,030
Yay, this is my group.

1664
01:21:57,030 --> 01:21:57,863
That's my group there.

1665
01:21:57,863 --> 01:21:59,956
They all thought I was dead.

1666
01:21:59,956 --> 01:22:01,886
That's the sign of celebration over here.

1667
01:22:01,886 --> 01:22:04,303
(man cheers)

1668
01:22:06,054 --> 01:22:09,360
I got in, and then as soon as I came back,

1669
01:22:09,360 --> 01:22:12,434
we captured three ISIS prisoners.

1670
01:22:12,434 --> 01:22:16,110
(man speaks in a foreign language)

1671
01:22:16,110 --> 01:22:18,530
And that's when I went straight back to soldier mode

1672
01:22:18,530 --> 01:22:20,640
and intelligence searching mode.

1673
01:22:20,640 --> 01:22:23,280
I started searching 'em for intelligence.

1674
01:22:23,280 --> 01:22:25,313
Hey, telephone, telephone?

1675
01:22:26,691 --> 01:22:31,691
He ends up grabbing the cell phones off of ISIS fighters,

1676
01:22:32,090 --> 01:22:33,500
who they encounter.

1677
01:22:33,500 --> 01:22:38,500
He becomes absolutely possessed by finding this information

1678
01:22:39,060 --> 01:22:44,060
that he considers to be the key to getting himself back.

1679
01:22:44,200 --> 01:22:45,850
We think this one is Daesh, yeah?

1680
01:22:45,850 --> 01:22:47,621
Yes.
Yeah.

1681
01:22:47,621 --> 01:22:48,538
His phone.

1682
01:22:49,890 --> 01:22:53,252
So, we've just gone through his phone this one.

1683
01:22:53,252 --> 01:22:57,990
And we found Daesh on his phone, like Daesh videos.

1684
01:22:57,990 --> 01:22:59,760
And these are his friends.

1685
01:22:59,760 --> 01:23:02,140
And that would be one of the ways that you could tell

1686
01:23:02,140 --> 01:23:05,100
if someone was a Daesh soldier or not.

1687
01:23:05,100 --> 01:23:06,629
So we've got another one.

1688
01:23:06,629 --> 01:23:09,140
(man speaks in a foreign language)

1689
01:23:09,140 --> 01:23:10,607
We handcuffed him, we blindfold him

1690
01:23:10,607 --> 01:23:13,081
and we started interrogating him.

1691
01:23:13,081 --> 01:23:15,414
(Michael speaks in a foreign language)

1692
01:23:15,414 --> 01:23:16,247
(man speaks in a foreign language)

1693
01:23:16,247 --> 01:23:19,820
(Michael speaks in a foreign language)

1694
01:23:19,820 --> 01:23:21,020
I always talked to them.

1695
01:23:21,020 --> 01:23:23,220
I always gave 'em crap.

1696
01:23:23,220 --> 01:23:25,510
And I would tell them, you've got a problem now.

1697
01:23:25,510 --> 01:23:26,390
You've got a problem.

1698
01:23:26,390 --> 01:23:28,822
The problem you gave them is your problem now.

1699
01:23:28,822 --> 01:23:33,072
(men speak in a foreign language)

1700
01:23:35,986 --> 01:23:39,486
And that particular one, my Arab friend,

1701
01:23:40,350 --> 01:23:41,770
he wanted to let him go.

1702
01:23:41,770 --> 01:23:44,150
I said, "Laesh," I said, "why?"

1703
01:23:44,150 --> 01:23:45,627
He said, "He's not Daesh."

1704
01:23:45,627 --> 01:23:50,290
And he pulled his trouser leg up and he had tattoos.

1705
01:23:50,290 --> 01:23:51,220
I said, "So what?

1706
01:23:51,220 --> 01:23:52,750
He got the tattoos four years ago

1707
01:23:52,750 --> 01:23:54,250
and he became Daesh three years ago."

1708
01:23:54,250 --> 01:23:56,090
I said, "No, no, no, no, no, no."

1709
01:23:56,090 --> 01:23:58,591
I said, "Take him to the second interrogation."

1710
01:23:58,591 --> 01:24:00,440
And they went, "No, Mustafa, we let him go

1711
01:24:00,440 --> 01:24:01,360
with the refugees."

1712
01:24:01,360 --> 01:24:04,170
And I said, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no."

1713
01:24:04,170 --> 01:24:05,743
And I really put my foot down.

1714
01:24:06,977 --> 01:24:07,810
Hey.

1715
01:24:09,628 --> 01:24:11,697
Come here, I'm talking to you, come here.

1716
01:24:11,697 --> 01:24:13,970
I'm talking to you, stay up.

1717
01:24:13,970 --> 01:24:16,688
(Michael speaks in a foreign language)

1718
01:24:16,688 --> 01:24:18,320
And it was like I was listening to my intuition

1719
01:24:18,320 --> 01:24:22,830
and my intuition was screaming that this guy is Daesh.

1720
01:24:22,830 --> 01:24:24,350
He said, "Okay, Mustafa, we'll take him

1721
01:24:24,350 --> 01:24:25,430
to the second interrogation."

1722
01:24:25,430 --> 01:24:27,560
And he took him to the second interrogation

1723
01:24:27,560 --> 01:24:29,667
and Ciya came back and he said,

1724
01:24:29,667 --> 01:24:32,640
"Mustafa, ooh, Mustafa."

1725
01:24:32,640 --> 01:24:34,120
Like you're a smart one.

1726
01:24:34,120 --> 01:24:35,210
And he showed me the picture.

1727
01:24:35,210 --> 01:24:36,810
He was one of the wanted ones.

1728
01:24:36,810 --> 01:24:41,810
(Ciya and Michael speak in a foreign language)

1729
01:24:44,429 --> 01:24:45,262
That's one of their leaders.

1730
01:24:45,262 --> 01:24:46,750
He was one of the leaders.

1731
01:24:46,750 --> 01:24:49,740
So, that felt good because without me

1732
01:24:49,740 --> 01:24:51,300
he'd have gone to the refugee camp

1733
01:24:51,300 --> 01:24:53,397
instead of the soldiers camp.

1734
01:24:53,397 --> 01:24:54,803
And now we had him.

1735
01:24:55,824 --> 01:25:00,824
(Michael and Ciya speak in a foreign language)

1736
01:25:03,700 --> 01:25:05,590
Let me reiterate that.

1737
01:25:05,590 --> 01:25:08,130
They were gonna let that guy go.

1738
01:25:08,130 --> 01:25:10,920
Michael's the only one insisting he stays.

1739
01:25:10,920 --> 01:25:15,920
And he turns out to be an ISIS commander, an emir.

1740
01:25:16,180 --> 01:25:19,330
That alone should satisfy the DHS directives

1741
01:25:19,330 --> 01:25:20,500
to get them a bad guy

1742
01:25:20,500 --> 01:25:22,372
and Michael should be allowed to come home

1743
01:25:22,372 --> 01:25:23,422
to the United States.

1744
01:25:24,840 --> 01:25:28,100
You know, when I was stopped at the border

1745
01:25:28,100 --> 01:25:31,060
and they said, well, if you can help get bad guy,

1746
01:25:31,060 --> 01:25:32,273
we'll let you come back.

1747
01:25:33,280 --> 01:25:35,330
I helped get a lot more than one bad guy.

1748
01:25:36,570 --> 01:25:39,000
I helped to get a lotta bad guys.

1749
01:25:39,000 --> 01:25:41,843
And even then I never left focus of that.

1750
01:25:41,843 --> 01:25:44,390
I never left focus at all.

1751
01:25:44,390 --> 01:25:47,710
It was like, I'm fighting this fight until we get to Raqqa.

1752
01:25:47,710 --> 01:25:50,156
I just wanted to stay focused on that.

1753
01:25:50,156 --> 01:25:52,989
(dramatic music)

1754
01:25:55,480 --> 01:25:57,193
So, now we're pushing into Raqqa.

1755
01:25:58,327 --> 01:25:59,710
On the first day that any troops

1756
01:25:59,710 --> 01:26:04,700
have been in their capital for quite a few years.

1757
01:26:04,700 --> 01:26:08,530
And who knows, somewhere in this city right now

1758
01:26:08,530 --> 01:26:12,693
are a lotta Yazidi women who have been held and gang raped.

1759
01:26:13,550 --> 01:26:16,903
And salvation is on its way.

1760
01:26:18,930 --> 01:26:20,303
Salvation is on its way.

1761
01:26:21,303 --> 01:26:26,303
(dramatic music)
(guns blast)

1762
01:26:32,260 --> 01:26:36,100
Raqqa was one of the worst fights

1763
01:26:36,100 --> 01:26:40,293
that the western world has seen for many, many decades.

1764
01:26:42,750 --> 01:26:44,860
Don't underestimate how important this is.

1765
01:26:44,860 --> 01:26:47,010
We're talking the capital of ISIS.

1766
01:26:47,010 --> 01:26:49,450
And the outcome matters to America, Europe,

1767
01:26:49,450 --> 01:26:51,300
and the people who live here.

1768
01:26:51,300 --> 01:26:53,360
Thousands and thousands of fighters died.

1769
01:26:53,360 --> 01:26:55,120
Thousands of civilians died.

1770
01:26:55,120 --> 01:26:57,310
And it was just a grind, a slow grind

1771
01:26:57,310 --> 01:26:58,884
to the center of the city.

1772
01:26:58,884 --> 01:27:01,301
(guns blast)

1773
01:27:05,470 --> 01:27:06,991
That's exactly where we went.

1774
01:27:06,991 --> 01:27:08,512
That's where the Assyrian Kurds went,

1775
01:27:08,512 --> 01:27:10,822
that's where the Yazidis went,

1776
01:27:10,822 --> 01:27:13,473
that's where the YPG went, we all went.

1777
01:27:14,900 --> 01:27:16,677
More than 6,000 ISIS militants

1778
01:27:16,677 --> 01:27:20,390
are still out there, ready to go underground, regroup,

1779
01:27:20,390 --> 01:27:21,683
fight, and die.

1780
01:27:22,900 --> 01:27:26,390
I ended up in an all Yazidi unit and it was for me

1781
01:27:26,390 --> 01:27:28,270
the icing on the cake to fight with them

1782
01:27:28,270 --> 01:27:31,530
because that's one of the reasons why I'd gone,

1783
01:27:31,530 --> 01:27:34,070
because of how they treated the Yazidis.

1784
01:27:34,070 --> 01:27:36,470
I fought with them and I remember fighting a lot

1785
01:27:36,470 --> 01:27:37,650
from this one house.

1786
01:27:37,650 --> 01:27:41,913
We're gonna go here, fourth story up.

1787
01:27:43,176 --> 01:27:46,383
So, that's where we're aiming for, right there.

1788
01:27:46,383 --> 01:27:49,260
And the Yazidis, they went on the roof.

1789
01:27:49,260 --> 01:27:52,500
And they put a big flag, Yazidi flag.

1790
01:27:52,500 --> 01:27:54,900
And they put it up, and in the morning,

1791
01:27:54,900 --> 01:27:57,860
when Daesh saw that their flag had been taken down

1792
01:27:57,860 --> 01:28:02,860
and the Yazidi flag was up, they hit us with everything.

1793
01:28:03,132 --> 01:28:05,284
(explosion booms)

1794
01:28:05,284 --> 01:28:07,701
(guns blast)

1795
01:28:11,080 --> 01:28:13,234
We were the point of the spear

1796
01:28:13,234 --> 01:28:15,453
and everything behind us, being us,

1797
01:28:16,520 --> 01:28:19,430
all of this was all enemy, everywhere.

1798
01:28:19,430 --> 01:28:23,520
So we were getting hit, left, right-hand side, straight on.

1799
01:28:23,520 --> 01:28:25,473
We got absolutely battered.

1800
01:28:27,830 --> 01:28:30,250
We would move forward and every group

1801
01:28:30,250 --> 01:28:32,630
would break into a structure.

1802
01:28:32,630 --> 01:28:35,360
We would go up to the rooftops with sledgehammers,

1803
01:28:35,360 --> 01:28:38,203
break holes in the little cinder block walls in there.

1804
01:28:38,203 --> 01:28:41,680
We'd stick our weapons through, set up a defensive position

1805
01:28:41,680 --> 01:28:43,520
and just start lighting up

1806
01:28:43,520 --> 01:28:46,379
whatever was in front of us to the north.

1807
01:28:46,379 --> 01:28:48,796
(gun blasts)

1808
01:28:49,890 --> 01:28:52,943
We'd fight, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, and then start RPG.

1809
01:28:52,943 --> 01:28:55,360
(guns blast)

1810
01:28:57,330 --> 01:29:01,100
We'd go in the back and we'd wait until the barrage was over

1811
01:29:01,100 --> 01:29:03,435
and then we'd come back out to give them a barrage.

1812
01:29:03,435 --> 01:29:06,550
(gun blasts)

1813
01:29:06,550 --> 01:29:07,700
And it was just bedlam,

1814
01:29:08,730 --> 01:29:09,953
absolute bedlam.

1815
01:29:11,240 --> 01:29:14,073
(explosion booms)

1816
01:29:15,051 --> 01:29:17,490
(guns blast)

1817
01:29:17,490 --> 01:29:19,510
Once it was dark, we would leave

1818
01:29:19,510 --> 01:29:22,650
the structures we were in and move forward

1819
01:29:22,650 --> 01:29:26,620
about two or three blocks and break into another structure

1820
01:29:26,620 --> 01:29:30,980
and do the whole thing over and over and over again,

1821
01:29:30,980 --> 01:29:33,534
until we cleared the city out.

1822
01:29:33,534 --> 01:29:35,951
(guns blast)

1823
01:29:36,940 --> 01:29:40,990
So that's where we met Daesh and we met them in Raqqa.

1824
01:29:40,990 --> 01:29:45,504
And they either ran or they ended up dead.

1825
01:29:45,504 --> 01:29:47,921
(guns blast)

1826
01:29:53,610 --> 01:29:54,983
Good morning, Raqqa.

1827
01:29:55,973 --> 01:29:58,723
(dramatic music)

1828
01:29:59,620 --> 01:30:00,453
We're going in.

1829
01:30:03,604 --> 01:30:07,937
(man speaks in a foreign language)

1830
01:30:08,870 --> 01:30:10,770
Tonight, Raqqa liberated.

1831
01:30:11,830 --> 01:30:14,540
The city that was the beating, black heart of ISIS,

1832
01:30:14,540 --> 01:30:15,623
finally free.

1833
01:30:16,700 --> 01:30:19,210
And at the center of the city, a traffic circle

1834
01:30:19,210 --> 01:30:21,770
where the extremists beheaded their enemies,

1835
01:30:21,770 --> 01:30:24,330
where women were sold into slavery.

1836
01:30:24,330 --> 01:30:26,770
Today, the center of victory celebrations

1837
01:30:26,770 --> 01:30:28,553
for the U.S.-backed forces.

1838
01:30:32,200 --> 01:30:34,133
So that was incredible feeling.

1839
01:30:35,140 --> 01:30:37,343
We were all so proud of what we did.

1840
01:30:39,480 --> 01:30:42,030
That when the devil came out and took a human form,

1841
01:30:43,150 --> 01:30:43,983
we beat them.

1842
01:30:44,830 --> 01:30:45,663
We beat them.

1843
01:30:47,783 --> 01:30:52,283
(woman speaks in a foreign language)

1844
01:31:02,750 --> 01:31:03,700
We won.

1845
01:31:04,980 --> 01:31:09,378
Raqqa is clear.

1846
01:31:09,378 --> 01:31:13,878
(woman speaks in a foreign language)

1847
01:31:23,080 --> 01:31:25,090
I'm so happy that they're now free

1848
01:31:25,090 --> 01:31:25,923
and they can wear what they want

1849
01:31:25,923 --> 01:31:27,942
and they can show those beautiful faces.

1850
01:31:27,942 --> 01:31:31,183
(man speaks in a foreign language)

1851
01:31:31,183 --> 01:31:35,766
(Michael speaks in a foreign language)

1852
01:31:39,200 --> 01:31:41,450
I feel I'm a part of something very important

1853
01:31:42,520 --> 01:31:47,327
to take their capital off them, off of evil men.

1854
01:31:49,979 --> 01:31:52,812
Yeah, I feel something, something.

1855
01:31:54,540 --> 01:31:57,210
And now it was time to return home.

1856
01:31:57,210 --> 01:31:59,393
And my plan was head back with the intelligence

1857
01:31:59,393 --> 01:32:03,080
that I'd gathered and I'd be allowed to come back home

1858
01:32:03,080 --> 01:32:04,523
to the United States.

1859
01:32:05,542 --> 01:32:07,380
So I flew to Central America

1860
01:32:07,380 --> 01:32:09,960
and I went to the American embassy there.

1861
01:32:09,960 --> 01:32:11,540
And I told them about the deal

1862
01:32:11,540 --> 01:32:14,020
that Laura, the blonde lady offered me

1863
01:32:14,020 --> 01:32:17,313
and the intelligence I'd been sending to Angel Man.

1864
01:32:19,210 --> 01:32:23,030
Angel Man was supposed to be helping Michael

1865
01:32:23,030 --> 01:32:28,030
transfer material that he had collected from ISIS

1866
01:32:28,290 --> 01:32:30,510
to the United States government,

1867
01:32:30,510 --> 01:32:33,467
so the United States government could look at that and say,

1868
01:32:33,467 --> 01:32:37,920
"We're so thankful, Michael, you helped us fight ISIS.

1869
01:32:37,920 --> 01:32:41,590
We're going to welcome you with open arms."

1870
01:32:41,590 --> 01:32:44,280
I went to the consulate and said, "You know,

1871
01:32:44,280 --> 01:32:45,340
I'd like to come home."

1872
01:32:45,340 --> 01:32:47,890
They gave me like another debriefing.

1873
01:32:47,890 --> 01:32:52,890
And they said, "Do you have any more in intelligence?"

1874
01:32:52,960 --> 01:32:53,793
I said, "Yeah."

1875
01:32:53,793 --> 01:32:55,437
I said, "But you need to let me come home.

1876
01:32:55,437 --> 01:32:56,830
Let me give it you there."

1877
01:32:56,830 --> 01:32:58,340
And they say, "Well, you know,

1878
01:32:58,340 --> 01:33:00,050
we need to talk to your intelligence officer."

1879
01:33:00,050 --> 01:33:00,883
I said, "Okay."

1880
01:33:00,883 --> 01:33:03,800
And then ever since then, every time I call them,

1881
01:33:03,800 --> 01:33:07,200
they say, "We're working on it, we're working on it."

1882
01:33:07,200 --> 01:33:10,550
Angel Man was going to be his savior.

1883
01:33:10,550 --> 01:33:14,833
And now Angel Man has vanished into thin air.

1884
01:33:16,477 --> 01:33:19,227
(dramatic music)

1885
01:33:38,287 --> 01:33:41,287
How does this make you feel?

1886
01:33:43,000 --> 01:33:44,800
It makes me feel a little bit sad.

1887
01:33:46,938 --> 01:33:48,636
It makes me feel sad.

1888
01:33:48,636 --> 01:33:49,570
Why?

1889
01:33:49,570 --> 01:33:51,150
Because I'm not home.

1890
01:33:51,150 --> 01:33:53,177
You know, I'm not, I'm not,

1891
01:33:55,157 --> 01:33:56,623
I'm not where I wanna be.

1892
01:33:57,600 --> 01:33:59,610
I have been involved with Michael's campaign

1893
01:33:59,610 --> 01:34:02,340
to come home, and when I came back to the states,

1894
01:34:02,340 --> 01:34:05,360
I decided to engage the State Department.

1895
01:34:05,360 --> 01:34:07,190
You know, I had to write the sworn statement

1896
01:34:07,190 --> 01:34:10,000
of how I knew him and what my role was in Syria

1897
01:34:10,000 --> 01:34:13,273
and his role was, and I thought we were making some headway.

1898
01:34:15,370 --> 01:34:17,017
And then I never heard anything back.

1899
01:34:17,017 --> 01:34:19,920
And so I called and then, you know, this is nothing,

1900
01:34:19,920 --> 01:34:20,833
nothing, nothing.

1901
01:34:21,867 --> 01:34:23,410
I don't know who dropped the ball.

1902
01:34:23,410 --> 01:34:25,587
I know I did exactly what I was told to do.

1903
01:34:25,587 --> 01:34:29,390
And I know that I tried my best to do the right things.

1904
01:34:29,390 --> 01:34:30,610
And then I've spoke since then

1905
01:34:30,610 --> 01:34:33,190
to other intelligence officers.

1906
01:34:33,190 --> 01:34:34,960
And basically off the record, they said,

1907
01:34:34,960 --> 01:34:36,310
the person who made you the offer

1908
01:34:36,310 --> 01:34:39,060
didn't really have the, didn't have the right to do that.

1909
01:34:42,056 --> 01:34:44,806
(dramatic music)

1910
01:34:59,547 --> 01:35:00,530
Why would they do that, man?

1911
01:35:00,530 --> 01:35:01,743
We gave them everything.

1912
01:35:03,029 --> 01:35:04,229
We gave them everything.

1913
01:35:06,110 --> 01:35:07,000
They're something, aren't they?

1914
01:35:07,000 --> 01:35:09,300
These people who make these fucking decisions.

1915
01:35:12,382 --> 01:35:14,450
These pen pushers, you know, bureaucrats

1916
01:35:14,450 --> 01:35:16,750
who make these decisions about people's lives.

1917
01:35:18,580 --> 01:35:19,950
Yeah, it was very disheartening too,

1918
01:35:19,950 --> 01:35:23,160
because the Department of Defense has brought back folks

1919
01:35:23,160 --> 01:35:26,870
that have done way, and I mean way less

1920
01:35:26,870 --> 01:35:29,290
for the United States and the government.

1921
01:35:29,290 --> 01:35:32,760
This is not hard, which is so very frustrating.

1922
01:35:32,760 --> 01:35:34,740
The State Department people can literally say,

1923
01:35:34,740 --> 01:35:36,930
yep, that's Mike, yep, he lived here.

1924
01:35:36,930 --> 01:35:38,100
Yes, he did that.

1925
01:35:38,100 --> 01:35:39,260
And yes, he's here.

1926
01:35:39,260 --> 01:35:41,000
Put him on a plane and bring him home.

1927
01:35:41,000 --> 01:35:42,143
It's that simple.

1928
01:35:44,829 --> 01:35:46,473
We jumped through every hoop.

1929
01:35:48,090 --> 01:35:49,670
We applied.

1930
01:35:49,670 --> 01:35:52,330
They asked for more paperwork, we gave them.

1931
01:35:52,330 --> 01:35:55,230
They asked for one piece of paperwork, we gave them three.

1932
01:35:56,090 --> 01:35:59,120
It just is a very, very big,

1933
01:35:59,120 --> 01:36:00,670
it's a very hard pill to swallow

1934
01:36:00,670 --> 01:36:04,893
because we did everything that they wanted.

1935
01:36:06,050 --> 01:36:08,793
And it's just like, what more do you want me to do?

1936
01:36:09,780 --> 01:36:11,430
What more do you want me to give?

1937
01:36:13,320 --> 01:36:17,230
I think Michael has a ledger book in his head.

1938
01:36:17,230 --> 01:36:19,860
And in that ledger book is a debt,

1939
01:36:19,860 --> 01:36:23,390
a debt to the United States because it gave him this life

1940
01:36:23,390 --> 01:36:28,020
that he had dreamed of in Los Angeles and acting.

1941
01:36:28,020 --> 01:36:30,980
And the way that he was going to repay that debt

1942
01:36:30,980 --> 01:36:34,510
was to go fight an enemy of the United States.

1943
01:36:34,510 --> 01:36:39,150
And now he has tried to return to deliver that payment,

1944
01:36:39,150 --> 01:36:42,660
that final mortgage payment on that debt,

1945
01:36:42,660 --> 01:36:45,130
and the way he sees it,

1946
01:36:45,130 --> 01:36:48,453
the United States doesn't want to accept payment.

1947
01:36:49,530 --> 01:36:51,953
I'd just be very interested in knowing why.

1948
01:36:52,807 --> 01:36:55,557
(mournful music)

1949
01:36:57,840 --> 01:36:59,090
Anyway, it is what it is.

1950
01:37:03,830 --> 01:37:04,663
Thanks.

1951
01:37:08,480 --> 01:37:10,710
Now he has no home.

1952
01:37:10,710 --> 01:37:13,100
He has very little money.

1953
01:37:13,100 --> 01:37:18,100
His life has turned into a nightmare exile in Mexico.

1954
01:37:22,930 --> 01:37:25,970
British people that have returned from Syrian Kurdistan

1955
01:37:25,970 --> 01:37:29,070
to the UK have usually been charged

1956
01:37:30,000 --> 01:37:32,260
and certainly investigated

1957
01:37:33,180 --> 01:37:37,420
on various terrorism-related charges.

1958
01:37:37,420 --> 01:37:40,720
In at least one instance, there was a prison sentence.

1959
01:37:40,720 --> 01:37:42,730
And that's the kind of thing

1960
01:37:42,730 --> 01:37:44,810
that would probably happen to Michael,

1961
01:37:44,810 --> 01:37:46,313
should he return to the UK.

1962
01:37:47,210 --> 01:37:50,090
If I went back to England, I'd go to jail.

1963
01:37:50,090 --> 01:37:52,130
And I'd be charged with terrorism.

1964
01:37:52,130 --> 01:37:53,623
That's why I'm not going back.

1965
01:37:54,770 --> 01:37:56,990
I'm not being arrested for doing something honorable.

1966
01:37:56,990 --> 01:37:59,090
I'm not gonna have that, that's not right.

1967
01:38:00,450 --> 01:38:05,450
Michael's life is not the Hollywood dream anymore.

1968
01:38:06,620 --> 01:38:10,343
The country of his birth, he is afraid to return to.

1969
01:38:11,770 --> 01:38:14,193
He's a person really with no country.

1970
01:38:16,293 --> 01:38:20,710
(Nuri speaks in a foreign language)

1971
01:38:41,359 --> 01:38:44,530
You know, in many ways it's hard being this close to home

1972
01:38:44,530 --> 01:38:46,827
and not being able to get there.

1973
01:38:46,827 --> 01:38:49,140
But in other ways, I'm blessed

1974
01:38:49,140 --> 01:38:52,120
that everything I've been through and I'm still here.

1975
01:38:52,120 --> 01:38:54,020
I'm still alive.

1976
01:38:54,020 --> 01:38:57,100
Because many of our beautiful men and women

1977
01:38:57,100 --> 01:39:00,263
were lost during this conflict, like Reece,

1978
01:39:02,870 --> 01:39:03,703
and John,

1979
01:39:05,130 --> 01:39:06,580
and my female Captain Molech.

1980
01:39:08,699 --> 01:39:13,287
And of course my good friend, my commander, Heval Ciya.

1981
01:39:16,783 --> 01:39:20,803
Ciya was blown up by a suicide car.

1982
01:39:22,170 --> 01:39:23,720
That was a really difficult one

1983
01:39:26,130 --> 01:39:27,773
because I admired him so much.

1984
01:39:32,434 --> 01:39:35,017
(Michael sobs)

1985
01:39:38,036 --> 01:39:39,869
He was an amazing man.

1986
01:39:42,460 --> 01:39:45,640
The Kurds, they've suffered so much, man.

1987
01:39:45,640 --> 01:39:46,490
They've suffered.

1988
01:39:50,500 --> 01:39:51,883
The Americans pulled out.

1989
01:39:52,860 --> 01:39:54,920
All the American soldiers who was with us,

1990
01:39:54,920 --> 01:39:56,200
they didn't wanna pull out.

1991
01:39:56,200 --> 01:39:59,423
All of the American soldiers didn't wanna do that.

1992
01:39:59,423 --> 01:40:01,440
Because they knew what was gonna happen

1993
01:40:01,440 --> 01:40:03,190
when the Americans pulled out.

1994
01:40:03,190 --> 01:40:05,060
The Turks would come in and slaughter the Kurds,

1995
01:40:05,060 --> 01:40:06,310
and that's what they did.

1996
01:40:10,460 --> 01:40:14,780
I think where the Kurds felt really deserted by the west

1997
01:40:14,780 --> 01:40:17,820
is with the nature of Trump's withdrawal

1998
01:40:17,820 --> 01:40:20,200
in the autumn of 2019.

1999
01:40:20,200 --> 01:40:24,420
We defeated this group largely, defeated ISIS,

2000
01:40:24,420 --> 01:40:27,950
100% of the Caliphate, 100%.

2001
01:40:27,950 --> 01:40:31,010
There is no longer a need for a U.S. presence in Syria

2002
01:40:31,010 --> 01:40:33,720
because ISIS has been defeated.

2003
01:40:33,720 --> 01:40:35,640
The president's decision,

2004
01:40:35,640 --> 01:40:40,640
which was announced via a tweet is dangerous, premature,

2005
01:40:41,500 --> 01:40:44,160
and wholly inconsistent with the facts

2006
01:40:44,160 --> 01:40:47,453
on the ground in Syria and our own military's advice.

2007
01:40:48,420 --> 01:40:50,180
He didn't announce it even to his allies.

2008
01:40:50,180 --> 01:40:52,980
He didn't discuss it even inside Washington.

2009
01:40:52,980 --> 01:40:57,100
And it seems to do with the relationship with Turkey.

2010
01:40:57,100 --> 01:41:00,900
From the Turkish perspective, the YPG is affiliated

2011
01:41:00,900 --> 01:41:04,320
with the Turkish Kurds, who they regard as terrorists.

2012
01:41:04,320 --> 01:41:08,240
And it does look a little bit like the U.S. simply deferred

2013
01:41:08,240 --> 01:41:11,090
to Turkey's wishes on this.

2014
01:41:11,090 --> 01:41:13,200
ISIS is defeated, President Trump thought,

2015
01:41:13,200 --> 01:41:15,260
so why do we need to be there now?

2016
01:41:15,260 --> 01:41:16,550
We can leave.

2017
01:41:16,550 --> 01:41:19,730
And this pleases Erdogan and the Kurds were, I think,

2018
01:41:19,730 --> 01:41:21,930
as shocked as anybody else when it happened.

2019
01:41:23,120 --> 01:41:25,143
History will haunt us.

2020
01:41:26,520 --> 01:41:30,730
We are going to be complicit in the ethnic cleansing

2021
01:41:30,730 --> 01:41:35,730
that occurs as a result of this absolutely abhorrent action.

2022
01:41:38,490 --> 01:41:41,803
This is the anguish that only comes from loss.

2023
01:41:43,210 --> 01:41:46,750
The Kurdish people have already endured so much suffering,

2024
01:41:46,750 --> 01:41:50,493
and every day of Turkey's offensive brings new chaos.

2025
01:41:54,540 --> 01:41:58,340
I had major league problems with President Trump

2026
01:41:58,340 --> 01:41:59,803
abandoning the Kurds.

2027
01:42:00,740 --> 01:42:02,640
We shouldn't be abandoning our allies.

2028
01:42:03,980 --> 01:42:08,260
Here they are fighting on our behalf essentially,

2029
01:42:08,260 --> 01:42:09,593
without their own country,

2030
01:42:10,860 --> 01:42:13,203
doing some of this country's dirty work.

2031
01:42:14,040 --> 01:42:19,040
And part of being a patriot is recognizing those,

2032
01:42:21,310 --> 01:42:23,273
whether it's a country or a people,

2033
01:42:25,960 --> 01:42:27,440
the help that they've done,

2034
01:42:27,440 --> 01:42:29,770
or the help that they have given this country

2035
01:42:29,770 --> 01:42:33,803
to keep our soldiers from being shot and killed.

2036
01:42:34,940 --> 01:42:37,040
You don't leave your friends.

2037
01:42:37,040 --> 01:42:41,663
And I think that's something that Michael personifies.

2038
01:42:44,650 --> 01:42:46,630
The Kurds have a saying

2039
01:42:46,630 --> 01:42:48,730
that we have no friends but the mountains.

2040
01:42:49,750 --> 01:42:51,300
Well, they have a friend in me.

2041
01:42:52,700 --> 01:42:54,907
The Kurds are fighting for dignity and honor,

2042
01:42:54,907 --> 01:42:57,023
and a place to call home.

2043
01:42:58,080 --> 01:43:00,650
And to deny that I personally think

2044
01:43:00,650 --> 01:43:02,583
that's a sin against humanity.

2045
01:43:05,410 --> 01:43:07,730
Everybody deserves a home.

2046
01:43:07,730 --> 01:43:11,320
Every human being that's ever been born

2047
01:43:11,320 --> 01:43:14,503
deserves to have a place that he or she can call home.

2048
01:43:15,700 --> 01:43:20,023
And my documents might not say I'm an American,

2049
01:43:22,580 --> 01:43:24,277
but I feel like one.

2050
01:43:28,289 --> 01:43:31,539
The word heval means friend or comrade.

2051
01:43:33,230 --> 01:43:34,923
And the Kurds are my friends.

2052
01:43:36,520 --> 01:43:40,733
The men and women of YPG and the YPJ are my friends.

2053
01:43:42,010 --> 01:43:45,600
I hope sometime soon that I get to go home

2054
01:43:47,080 --> 01:43:49,930
and I hope that the world remembers what we did in Syria.

2055
01:43:51,138 --> 01:43:53,487
And will let the Kurds have a home too.

2056
01:43:54,899 --> 01:43:57,732
(inspiring music)

2057
01:44:21,058 --> 01:44:23,808
(dramatic music)

2058
01:46:04,768 --> 01:46:07,601
(inspiring music)

2059
01:46:08,791 --> 01:46:11,624
(dramatic music)